History - Caribbean History for CSEC.pdf

caribbean history

1. OXFORD

UNIVERSITY PRESS

2. OXFORD

3. u | À
À a A’

VAN. Contents

Introduction
Section A
1 The Indigenous peoples and the Europeans
2 The Caribbean economy and slavery
3 Resistance and revolt
Section B
4 The metropolitan movement towards emancipation
5 Adjustments to emancipation 1838-76

6 Th

ribbean economy 1875-1985
Section C

7 The USA in the Caribbean 1776-1985
8 Caribbean political development

9 Caribbean society 1900-85

10 The School-Based Assessment

Index

32

64

a

118

137

164

187

208

4. Introduction

WHAT IS HISTORY?
the econ and wit of past eve

Ifthe only subject you ever studied was history and
ifyou did so thoroughly, you would become
‘knowledgeable about many other subjcts such as
psychology, sociology, economies, politics,
literature and even some mathematics,

This is because history not only about events. is
also about how human beings behave and think, Why
‘do weactin the way that we do? What circumstances
‘ean make some people heroes and other people

villains? Do heroes and vins really exit ot iit
their me and their pa

e which create them?

These are questions which history helps to shed
light on. How has history made me the kind of
person Iam today? The first event in your personal
history was your birth. Before that, there was the
history of your parents and your grandparents

as well as al the other people who ma

influenced them. However, human beings all
some kind of society: The kind of society we ive in
influences the kind of people we are andi is history
which shapes the kind of society we have

You can se this in common products around you,

For example, the sugaein soft drinks, o the beans
in coffe, or the coton in your shirt have played a
important role in Caribbean history: It was the
demand for sugar in Europe which led to the trade
in enslaved Aricans and, late, tothe coming of
indentured labourers from India and other
continents Cotton and eofe also played similar

roles. So when you understand that history, you
will understand why your ancestors came here.
Understanding that, in tur, helps you understand
why our society isthe way iti, with al its

ages and its shortcomings,

‘The Caribbean has had a turbulent history The
firs islanders sete here 7,000 years ago, and
lived typical hunter-gatherer existence until the
Europeans arived in 1492. Then, for 400 years,
this region was considered one of the wealthiest in.
the world. In that period, the European nations

colonized and fought over the islands, New crops
were introduced and new peoples brought here

So our history inthe past four centuries is lo
history ofthe Western word

How is the study of Caribbean history

important to us?

© Ithelps us to understand how the Caribbean has
evolved tothe point itis at toda

© Itteaches us about past events which took place
in the Caribbean,

© Ie gives usa sense of belong

ng knowing where

we came from

© Ithelps us to understand and appreciate the
different ethnic and religious groups which can
be found throughout the Caribbean countries

© Te gives explanations forthe si
Aifferences between people of diferent
Caribbean counties,

What skills can we learn from

studying history?

© Ve can lear to think critical, When we study
history we ate forced to look in more detail a.
events and ideas to see what reall happened and
not just look at the surface.

5. © Welearn to analyse different events and ideas
and then make intelligent conclusions based on
these, We can then give informed opinions on
topics from the pastas wel as the present time

© Studying history gives us an opportunity to lam

nv to proces information and how to use our

minds to think objectively

© It sharpens our skills in understanding why
people think and act he way they do, thereby
making tease for us to communicate
with people

A guide for students
How my examination?
A student who wants o be sucess the CSEC®

an I pas

history examination has to focus on these three things,

1. Writing well-researched School-Based
Assessment (SBA), See Chapter 10 fora step
by-step guide to writing SBAs.

2 Studying al ofthe coe topic. Ths is important
as Paper 1, which isa multiple-choice
examination paper, covers the entire syllabus
that ial the core topics,

3 Suadying, in deal at leas three themes, one

y cach section, as outlined on the contents

page ofthis book,

What does the examination consist of?
“The final examination is broken down as follows

© Paper 1 consists of 60 muliple-choice questions
Students are required to answer all questions
inthis paper.

Paper 2 has one question on each theme
Students are required to answer
from each section This means that

x Paper 2
students have t answer three questions in total

The examination paper contains a combination of
questions which require short answer responses and
questions which have to be answered as an esa:

Short answer questions

© Make sure hat cach section is numbered
properly. For example, each short answer
question comes in sections (a), (0), (0) or
numbers (), i) or (i). You must make sure hat

you answer the questions according to d

section otherwise you will lose marks

Answer your quest

number of marks given for each pat ofthe
question. Each section might be allocated a
diferent amount of marks, For example you
right get question where par (a) is worth 2
marks, part (b)is worth 5 marks and part (cis
worth 10 marks is important to write your
response in elatio
example, our answer to par (a) will be much
shorter than your answer 1 par (b) and because
part (e) is worth 10 marks, your answer to this
part will have much more detail han your
answers for part (a) and (b)

© Donot repeat your answers for the different
parts Although the questions may
same, each par is actual asking you either for
‘new information orto expand on points which
you gave before, Therefore, make sure that your
answer to cach partis different

to the number of marks, For

seam the

Essays
© Each essay must be well planned, and writen so
that the examiner can understand your points,
© Essays must be argumentative rater than marae
‘© You have to get your points across ina simple,

to-the point manner.

For more on esay writing see Chapter 10.

6. The Indigenous peoples
and the Europeans

More than 7,000 years ago, small groups of people
Leithe South American continent in canoes and
seuled in the various islands of the Caribbean.
Human beings had first reached the continent
"between 14,000 and 35,000 years go by crossing
the Bering Strait, between Siberia and the Americas.
North and South America had been colonized by

the people who lived in East Asia about 50,000
years ago (an ea called the Upper Paleolithic)
‘Genetic analysis suggests that human beings first
‘ame tthe North American continent about

14,000 yeas ago. Then there was a second
migration about 12,000 years ago and possibly a
{hie migration 10,000 years ago Ie was people from
the fist wave who spread to South America while
those in the second and third waves stayed in
orthern part ofthe continent. Member ofthe first,

group eventually ef mainland in canes to
populate the Caribbean islands. Akhough historians
habitant of the

had long assumed thatthe original
region had migrated from sland to island, the recent
discovery ofa ancient boat design, which had afin
to keep the canoe steady in rough waters, suggests
that the South American natives could well have
paddled the 565 kilometres separating the
‘continental land mass from the islands

tis not surprising that historians assumed that dhe
Caribbean became inhabited as people from Sout
America sland-hopped from the Lesser Aniles to

the Greater Antilles - that is, starting from Trinidad,
‘which is separated from the South American
«continent by just 12 kilometres, and continuing up
the island chain to Cuba

travel from south to north and from east to west,
A south equatorial current, which flows across the
south Adantic sea from Africa, is dfleted north
along the east of Guyana, and the Tainos South
American ancestors may hae ridden this current
‘out of the Orinoco river and into the Windward

The ea current vor

Islands. In dhe 20th century his same current

would cary escaped prisoners from Devil's Island

(a smal island off the coast of what used to be

called French Guiana) to Venezuela and Trinidad
the

Trade winds, which blow continually fr
north west for most ofthe year, strengthen
the westward sea current, is possible that
the Ca

bhean was peopled from two directions
first by the Casimiroid people from the Middle
Americas and then by the Ortoioroids from South
America, This later group inhabited nidad!
‘when it was ail atached tothe continent, Around

7. 655 ap, or about 1.400 years ago, the Ortooroids
in Trinidad were displaced by the Cedrosan
Saladoid people, who came from the Guianas
through the Boca Grande or by sling slong a sea
current called the Cané Ménamo, which flows into
sea currents and wind conditions all favoured such

Gulf of Paria on Tiinidad’s southern coast. The

hypothesis, However recent archaeological
evidence shows that some of these people rowed
iret from Veneruela to the Leeward Islands and
eastern Puerto Rico, Although this considerable
distance, it could have been accomplished by
padlers taking shifts, Cloud formations on the
horizon would have given them an indication that a
land mass did ie ahead, since low clouds do not
form over the open sea, Archaeologists in Cuba and
Santo Domingo have found sites 4,000 and even
7,000 years old and, because of the sinilarity to

prehistoric sites in Nicaragua, speculate thatthe
inhabitants came tothe Caribbean directly from

Central America.

We might wonder why these people seule inthe
‘lands rather than remaining on the mainland,

The main reason may have been the most basi: fod.
The islands offered land for planting and game for
Jnunting, Some of the seers may have also wanted 10
setup their own communities, while others may have
"been lerng to avoid enslavement bythe powerful
Aatec, Inca and Mayan civilizations, Some may have
just been following he human urge to explore

As had happened all over the planet since human
history began, the Casimiroid and the Ortoioroid
peoples were displaced by anew tribe, the
Saladoid invaders and their Osinoid descendants
By the time Christopher Columbus saled across
the Atlantic in search ofa western passage to Asa,

went astray and by chance sailed into the Bahamas

somewhere between 750,000 and sx million

Inaaenous popes nd the Europeans

Let u trade you to “ridad lest residen

Barwar Man ws score a Dm Trac,
human element in te Caribbean ana radicaron
out 7,000 sere e, Banvar Man was excited
In Novmer 1969 y member fhe Trinidad and

Tabago Mistrial Sci, When they fund Hm, he was

wy the Barman Mans age hls sc
ace rom South Amara ta Carita rein

This isa very wide range, but historians do not have
better estimate because the Europeans did not make a
proper tally and he Indigenous peoples did not have
‘counting system that went above three or, fo that

rater, a wring system to record any numbers

8. Columbus himself had a tendency to exaggerate
‘numbers ‚which led some historians to lim that
‘the Caribbean in the 15th century had over

13 million people inhabiting the various islands

For example, when he landed in Cuba, Columbus
found only single large village of about 1,000 people,
yetina later ter claimed tha there were ‘an infinite
‘numberof smal villages and people without number"
on the island. However since the population of Spain
in that period was jus under seven milion, it scems
unlikely that he ess agricultural and technologically
advanced Caribbean would have had a population of
similar size, The largest population was on Hispaniola
{anisland whichis now divided between Hai and
the Dominican Republic) and may have totalled about
500,000 people, while the island now called Cuba
"may have had a population of aout 50,000 and
Jamaica could have had 20,000 people. We cannot be
‘more certain than this because most history depends
on written records When such records do not exist,
orareunreible, information has to come rom
archacology and languages.

Archacoogits, by examining pottery and tools and
Bones and buildings, can estimate how long ago a
society existed, how big the groups were and what
Kind oftechnca sl the people had, For example
the perio befor the arial ofthe Tinos ancestors is
divided into two ages the Lit, or Palo-Indhan, in
‘which human being create tools by flaking stones,
and the Archaic, or Meso-Inian, in which stones and
Bones and shell are ground to create tools and
‘ornaments Sites from both periods have been found
in Cuba, ait and the Dominican Republic. In
Trinidad, ites as old as 2,400 107,000 years have
been found in beaches and at theelges of swamps,
though not far inland, Most ofthe sites have bone

projectile points and barbs, from which archeologists
deduce hat there were good opportunities in
Trinidad to hunt sh nd smal game

Linguists, who study languages, can analyse words
to determine how much contact different groups
Had with one another. ftwo diferent languages
have the same or similar nouns for certain objects,
this indicate a strong possibly of close contact in
the past. Even the types of words might indicate
what type of contact here was- for example ifthe

Extract rom Columbus ir on rst meet

Ale men saw were ou Try ele
Strand he bak whieh hy var m ad never et
Trey ae clar fhe Canary lanes, er lack
norte a ar hs pits, Soe ote pt
‘Senses sk oer vtr ay ar ev they
tees som el ee sae on th ne, They do

words are for goods, this might reveal a trading
relationship.

We wll discuss the sue of language and history

more fly in Chapter 2 in relation to Wes Aca,

9. In the Caribbean, none ofthe Amerindian languages

ken. This is not surprsin
nov just thee to our thousand Amerindian-desoendd
people in the region, Most ofthe Amerindian had by
the 16h century been wiped out by diseases brought

by the Europeans, particularly smallpox for which

they ha no rami a well asthe destruction
oftheir crops by the Spaniards,

Thein
historias, archaeologists and anthropologists have
about the fst

nation is therefore sparse. N

been able to discover significant

second group came fom Belize in Central America.
"This migration continued over period of nearly
5,000 years forthe fs group and for about

3,500 year fr the second group. The third group to.
‘ome tothe Caribbean did so much later stating
2.500 years ago and casing st one century later
‘Over the nex 1,500 years, four other groups were to

migra from the continent to dhe iands. Their
descendants wer te Caribbean natives who the
Spaniards encountered when they came tothe region,

inhabitants ofthe islands,
The fist group of migrants tothe Caribbean probably
migrated from the Guianas in South America, whilea |

10. 10

a u —

© Our region is named he Car se one ofthe
“cars ty rem

© The ther popular ie are Arawak. Both Carbs and
Aranaks ile diferent group ning ne lind,
Carts fr example ar rely three got and
Cars Cars fam South Amen and Carb rom
‘he Wingard Ian led al

© Aras wer may late inte Greater Arties and
the Bahamas when Colts sale in he eon a

lares grove Nowe were call Tale, ang
they were trom rate South America

© There were ls fret group inthe varius ands
with er om ety. Ths wuld have Den sla o
the situation we have today hr ae fran russ

Archaeologist divido the orginal inhabitants ofthe
region into eight types. The Oriioid, Casimiro,
and Salad were the first thre to migrate tothe
(Caribbean. Late, he Barrancoid, Troumassoid,
Suazan Troumassoid, Cars and the Ostionoid came
The peopl dd not al themselves by these technical

rames instead, the modern labels are based on the
sites where der setlements were fist discovered by
archacologis. The Ortoiroid people, for example

are called this because their sites were unearthed along
the Onoire River, The Saladoid people's selements
were frst discovered at Saladero in Veneruc

Group Migration period Sites
Orohois | 8000-200 et | Orte her est
a ad

Casio 4000-40Om Cam,
Rep

Saladoid 500 REE 600 Sale,
Minera

Brand 3506506 Baras,

roumasoid | 500-1000 Tronas,
Ste

Suaran 1000-1450 66 Saiane Sie

‘Ward Cars She preset Guiana Saut
America

CRE

Inthe following sections, we will look at three of the
main cultural groups, or tibes, in the region: the
Maya, from South Americ; the Tinos, who spread
throughout the Caribbean; and the Kalinagos, who
lived on the Windward Island,

MIL: —_

Ce

Elastin,
© Fou

© Patty ini

© The deren aye o poten,
tre eats

Maya

2,000 years ago the Maya created one ofthe
greatest civilizations in the Western Hemisphere
They practised agriculture, built great stone
buildings and pyramid temples, worked gold and
copper and had hieroglyphic writing

11. As carly as 150 nc the Maya had sete in villages
and had developed an agriculture based on the
cultivation of maze, beans and squash, By 200 an
dcir villages had grown into cites containing
temples, pyramids, palaces, plazas and ball court.
“The ris ofthe Mayan culture started around

250 xb, and whats known to archaeologist s the
Classic period of Mayan culture lasted almost

Between 300 acand 100 aD, the lowland Maya had!
"gu to create a cvilzaton that was to become the
gates in the New Worl. The Petén Yucatán
Peninsula lacks many raw materials and does not
Have much fete land, but the area had limestone
which could e easly quai fr buildings, as well
as int for stonework. Producing cement and plaster,
which were cay made by buming limestone or
shell, was dhe basis for Mayan advancement.

The heart ofthe Mayan civilization was.

northern Petén, in Guatemala, where the oldest
dated Mayan sele are found. The Late

Formative culture of Petén is called Chicane,

evidence of which has been found at many
Mayan centres, Chicanel pottery includes

dishes with wide-everted and grooved rms,
bowls with composite silhouette and vessels

resembling ice buckets

version we know today, ut dried cacao ears ground to

At its height, Mayan civilization consisted of more

than 40 cities, each with a population of between
000 and 50.000. Among the principal cites

‘were Tikal, Unsactön, Copán, Bonampak,

Palenque and Río Bec, In this period, historians

u

12. estimate that there were about two million Maya,
most of them in the lowlands of what is now
Guatemala After 900 ap, however, Mayan

hilization suddenly declined. The people
vanished, leaving the great cities and ceremonial
centres empty and covered by jungle vegetation
No one knows for sure what caused this, but the
‘exhaustion of agricultural land, droughts and

resulting wars between the cities seem the best
‘explanations. ts alo possible that climate

change, in the form of global cooling that lasted
from 535 to 900 ap, caused a severe drought in
1599-900 and frst set ofthis chain of disasters
Between 900 and 1519, cites such as Chiché
It, Uxmal and Mayapán in the highlands ofthe
Yucatán Peninsula continued to flourish after the
great lowland cities had been depopulated.
However by the time the Spaniards conquered
the area in the early 16th century, most ofthe
Maya were villagers growing their own erops and
practising the religious rites of their ancestors,

6 See ar in cheaters Caters

© Mayan corms si x toy ey are most
prole io Gusteraa

© The modem Maya are basicaly agriutural pope,
rang ropa of ern es ese,

© they ine in communities organize aroun central
vilages whien may De permanent occupe tut
ire commen ae comunity centres with aoe
gs

Taino
Although they were the largest and most widespread
‘ofthe three group vingin the Caribbean, the Tinos
‘were virtually wiped out within one hundred yeas of
the areal ofthe Spaniard in the late 15th century
They once however occupied Cuba, Jamaica, he
Bahamas, Hispaniola (now divided into vo
‘counties, Hat and the Dominican Republi), Puerto
Rico, the Lesser Ansi and the Virgin Islands

‘The Timos were descendants ofthe Ostionoid
people (sce Table I-1)and inhabited the Caribbean
fiom 1200 to 1500 ap, They were not Aravaks,as
‘many historians frst thought. The Tainos spoke a
different language and had different cultural practices
fiom the Arawaks. Although both groups
‘worshipped ancestral spirits and wed griddles to
Take cassava bread, the Arawaks had a simple
ur than the Tans. For example, he Arawaks
practised slash-and-burn agriculture to make
temporary arms, whereas the Tinos built rows of

© The pope ve on farm homesteads, except uring
estas and rakes when ty ot e central lago
Lo tad and exert, See es pt and encia
a rare te at ae und fr farming

© sus few Industries es nd afew erates are
trade, monty far rete u

© Usual some cath crop or tem of acl manucure
A prota fr sal ots the eon provide cash
by aod he ile cams row or mae for
amas

{© ‘The women war atonal Mayan lathes but the men
wear more made acanymade ein, Although
Maya women oc spun ane wore hei an it mos
of ther garment are now mado! fatery-noen een

© Tre url etc of he Spanish conque is eects
Inthe fact that aimos al Maya are ase a
Raman Cao

© However ancestral glo fences how hey
race Chistany. Christian Aaure, or example
re vun denied wth Mayen deities,

© Publio 1 basil Christian wit Mas and
saints celebrations, But priate te ave
pre-Columbian rane fen lions

© The don't make crcolat mera

13. mounds of earth, dug drains and prevented erosion
inthe cl to grow their crops. Different Taino
groups had dierent levels of development. The
"Tinos of Cuba, for example, were
differen be, called Ciboneys, who were slaves to
the Tainos, but new archacologi

noe thought tobe

analyses suggest
that they were a Tino group who lived in caves and
lived mainly on fish, The Ciboney were not very
advanced technologically. They did not weave thei
clothes nor did they make potery- Their weapons
‘were simple wooden clubs and stones. They got food
carly through hunting and gathering, and did not
‘oven culate cassava, unlike the ther Taino groups

When the Tino first encountered the Spanish, hee
staple crop was cassava and they gathered wild plants

They also grew maize and eulvaton ofthis
crop increased after he Spanish conquest Other
crops included peanuts, peppers, beans and
arowroot. They hunted birds nad and small
animals, Fish and hell wer ther important food
sources, They ae catfish, mallets eis, conch and
‘oyster, aswell a tue, This et was supplemented
swith varie of other rep and insets,

Their selemenswereas mal single funicoand
aslargeas 3,000 peopl. They had lo houses with
thatched oof and dir lors. The hi vd

Tage rectangular ung wie the common people
Ted in aval circula huts The men general went

The Indigenas popes andthe Eur

naked, while women wore a net ora grass apron. Both
‘men and women painted themselves on special
occasions; they wore earings, nose rings and
necklaces, which were sometimes made of gold

The Tinos, however, did not have many craft works,
making only some potery a
Government was by hereditary chiefs and sub-chit,
and the society vas not egalitarian, for here were
‘lasses of nobles, commoners and ef (or slaves).

woven baskets,

‘The most advanced Tinos lived in Puerto Rico
and Hispaniola, where they had ball courts and
stonelined plazas

“The lande were divided into provinces,each
ofwhich had its own chief (cacique), and there
were sub-chief and headmen who ruled the
communities or villages within the province.

Settlements ranged from single units of many families
to towns ofabout 1,000 houses and about 3,000 10
4,000 people. However mos villages would have
about 150 inhabitants. Houses were often made of
intertwined branches, although the chief house
would he constructed out of adobe (a yellow lay)
with straw roof

“The main duty ofeach chief or his subordinates
was o organize he hunting and farming which dhe
people depended on for food. When there were
‘tra provisions, he chiefarranged storage and
(istibuion. He also negotiated relations with
other villages to maintain peace. Every chief
seemed to have wielded more o less absolute
power over the common villes including the
power to order executions, Chief and hei.
subordinates typically had more han one wie,
unlike commoners and since there were about the

same numberof men and women this would have
‘meant that many young men would not be able to
find wives within their communities.

B

14. Interesting; the Europeans recorded some female
leaders among the Indigenous Caribbean There was
“cacique named Anacaona, who ruled in Hispaniola
after her brother died, and women were reported as
village leader in St Croixand in Suriname,
When a male cacique died, one or wo o his wives
were sometimes buried with him. Unlike common
people, whose bodies were buried naked in graves
rin caves, a cacique was bound with cotton cloth
and buried with ornaments and prized possessions,
‘The religion ofthe Tainos was plytheisti, which
means they worshipped many gods o spins. These

‘emis, as they were called, were represented by
carvings of wood, stone, bone and even the remains
ofthe family’s ancestors. Fach household had
several zemis, usually around 10, andi appears that
higher that

The most
importan gods among some Taino groups were
Yücahu, who was god ofthe cassava and the sea,

nd his mother Atabey; who was goddess of rivers
nd fen: Before communing witha zemi, the
‘Tainos purified themselves by vomiting (which they
induced by sticking special vomit stick down their
throat), Using forked tube, they would inhale a
snuff called cohoba, which was made by crashing

seeds ofthe piptadenia tree, and which caused
hall inos made food offerings to
their zemis and once a year he whole village would
pay homage to the caciques zemis. This ceremony
began with a procession ofthe villagers, who would
be wearing their best omaments, carrying baskets of
‘cassava bread and singing songs in praise ofthe
zemis. Inthe larger villages which had a temple the
cacique sat atthe entrance beating a drum while

the more zemis a person possessed th
person's status was inthe communi

1 (or priests) entered and dressed the
emi. Inthe smaller villages, he caciques bohio,
as it was called, served this purpose, The villagers
then presented themselves in front ofthe temple,
induced vomiting with their ticks, and entered
with bread for the shamans, who in tum offered it
to the zemis. fier his, here would be dancing and

singing, with bread from the offerings being,
distributed tothe heads of files. This was eaten
and also kept as protection against accidents,

As in most hunter-gatherer societies, the shamans
were also the healers. In the larger groups, where
‘numbers allowed some specialization (hat is, he
priests did not also have to plant or hunt), shamans
would be paid in cassava or oe food. Ifa person
Fall the shamans painted zemis on thet bodies
and performed a ritual o make the patient beter,
Both shaman and patient would fas before his
ritual, which involved the shaman taking snuff and
swallowing an herb (called gois to make him
vomit. The shaman would light torch and sing,
accompanying himself with a rate, This ritual was
supposed to remove the spirit causing the illness
fiom the patients body, but shamans would
generally know about useful herbs to trat various

ailments a wel,

Extract rom a et writen ty Clubs to Queen
Isabella of Spin ia 1692

nos that Columbus encountered
ibs,

Although the’
‘were relatively peaceful, compared with the Cs
the letter writen by Columbus quoted above
probably reflects only the Spaniard experience,
rather than how the Tainos actually behaved, since
all known human groups in premedr times have
waged regular bates and wars with one another,
and the Tainos also fought among themselves to
avenge murders or resolve dispute over hunting and
ad

fishing grounds. The Spaniards themselves also
several bates with Taino groups in later voyages. In
the extract, Columbus falls to realize that the spears

he would have observed were no just fr hunting,
Butals fr fighting, The Tainos also used clubs,
and bows and arows. However, some groups were
more peaceable than others for example, the

"Tios who occupied Jamaica, as compared with
those he Leeward and Virgin Islands, who fie
Had to contend with raid from the Kalinagos

15. The peaceable facade presented to Columbus
and his erew was party because the Tainos
wanted to gain the help ofthe militarily superior
Spaniards in fighting the Kalinagos, who

regularly raided their villages and captured their
he Tainos were also traders

rather than warriors, Individuals, as well as
groups, undertook regular sea voyages in ther
dugout canoes to exchange goods with the
inhabitants of the other islands. Some districts
were even famous for specific products - for

example, the inhabitants of Gonave island, of
the west coast of what is now Hat, produced
‘wooden bowls which were in great demand.
‘The Tainos also cultivated tobacco, drying the
1 or pounding the leaves
into a powder which they inhaled. They also

made dyes from indigo, which they used to
paint their bodies and to colour their cloth.
Taino cotton was skill woven, mainly by the
women, and was used to make

Fishing nets and even hammocks (this noun is
itself derived from the Amerindian word
“hamaca), The Tainos also made baskets from
palm leaves and grasses

The Tainos displayed particular sin making
the canoes which hey used to travel rom island
to island. They did not inventor discover sails
una dhe Europeans came, nor did hey ever cut
planks to make their boats Instead, they made
hat ae called dugouts which, asthe name
suggest, were tree trunks which were carved in

the centre to make a hollow space for the rower to
sitin. The main type of tree used was slkwood,
‘which was light but also large enough to make

canoes to carry as many as 20 men. Cedar and
‘mahogany were also used. After the tre was ut
itwas carefilly burned and parts were hacked

away to make a balanced shape that would sit
properly in the water This required a lt of ime
and effort, but the canoes lasted a very ong ime.

1.68 The Innes peoples an he Europeans

Maya mi Kaliaso
aire was be Cannes Cons
ma esp. ie ma re. the min cr,

Tre hd part They trade on They rad on
‘economy her hey asmallsale. mal cle
traded con textes,

foot cramis

ara ol.

Like most hunter-gatherer groups, the Tainos
Had a relatively leisurely lifestyle compared
with that of modem societies, They would have
worked for about four to six hours daily, which
Let plenty time for ther activities, such as ball
‘games, The favourite game was played with a
Hard rubber ball (which was probably obtained
through trade with the Maya since the islands
did not have balata trees) and involved keep
the bal in the ai using only the legs and hips.
‘The Tainos had alcoholic drink called piwari
and cassir, which were consumed in great
Thins

‘quantities at celebrations and the
celebrated nearly everything the birth of
first-born male child, the coming of age at
puberty, elearinga field, holding a council
and soo

“The Tainos are now gone, and ll the knowledge
we have about them comes from the ruins oftheir
ities, pottery shards and other artefacts and the

records ofthe European explorers written
centuries ag.

15

16. 1

Kalinago
The Kalinagos were the lst group to settle in the
Caribbean before the arial of Columbus and his
crew, Indeed, when his ships, he Nii, the Pinta
and the Santa Mari, reached land in 1492, the
Kalinagos had been here only for about 40 years
Inthe Windward Islands, they had established
setements in Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, St
Vincent and Dominica, and were ill migrating
from the mainland when the Spaniards came.
Since the Kalinagos were latecomers, his may
explain why they were mote warlike than the
established Tainos and Arawaks. They were
seeking territory and women. They provided the
fiercest resistance to the Europeans forthe
Kalinagos themselves had driven out the Tainos

from the Lesser Antilles, Perhaps the more
aggressive stance of he Caribs explains why the
region is today called the Caribbean instead of
Arawakania or Tainoland,

Pat

dal ae

© The Kalraor sane lr bes In re ye and
(© Tr Years‘ pearance was emphasis by thie
he ear, sata th pe ak ror

above the ee

{© Themen ere sul armed with à eu
kn and toe an ons

© A high rato erase a major, ofthe emals among
the Kalnago were al a he man purpose ofthe
Kalnap ads was to aur ano women an as.

© Tr Kalinag man had capture o many wane Dat
{© The Kainagos ud patriarca! ur which me

© Kalnago women werent even allowed 1 et er

Kalinago women were crucial tothe tribe's dit,
since they elated the erops such a cassava, sweet
potatoes, yams, beans, peppers, guava and papaya

hich sustained everyone ifthe hunting was
unsuccesful. Iguanas, snakes, birds and agouti
provided met. Kalinago men were skilled fishermen,
‘who used smal nets, hooks and line made from vines
or cotton and even their hows and arrows, They
were noted for their sil at making dugout canoes

and, ody enough, for basket weaving aswel is
‘even possible that this warrior ube brought the
technique of cotton spinning tothe

Unlike dhe Tainos, he Kalinago culiraed arrowroot
and may also have brought certain plans to the
(Caribbean with them, suchas sugarcane and plantain,

The Kalinagos lived in villages near river or creek,
located

always srteg case ofan auack from
other tribes, such as the Tainos. The huts were
oval-shaped, and thee living arrangements also
reflected the strong patriarchal culture, since men
and boys lived in de larger buildings ad the
Female ina smaller house:

Maya ano Katnago
“The ead was cala The chivas The cit wae
‘he halach uch. called cage. called an
‘Tsposiionwas This poston was, cuates This
retary. retary poston was
atte ty he
Fe of he
largest ami.
Physical streng
as important

robles were bit of vig sac.

Ordinary pele ned replace

‘betel and en

They edn Tele The din

Paseos usen asen

contains mai cana

cenar erden entered
fens. fares

17. Katinas

Fe

Trey adsl ours. Treyhadkall They had no
caunsinthe Ballen,

Unlike the Tainos, however, the Kalinagos hada

les hierarchical society, so that ther chieß did not
have as much authority but essential ruled by
consensus. Only in times of war did the chief gain
‘hedience, since his was necessary for an effective
fighting unit. The Kalinagos are said to have used
linking bouts as a ital which they usd to whip
themselves into a renzy fr going into bale

Lt vas this martial prowess which may explain why;
ofall dhe Indigenous groups in the Caribbean, only
the Kalinagos survived the encounter wih the
Europeans. Initially the European invaders
recorded that the Kalinagos led to the forests and
‘mountains when they encountered them. However,
the Kalinagos soon began atackng the Europeans.
The Tainos had already formed an alliance with the
Spanish to fend off these attacks and the Kalinagos
‘were no math for the Europeans superior

lso

‘weapons. At the same time, he Spanish were 3
intent on subjugating the Tinos, so there were also
later times when the Tainos allied with th
Kalinagos against the Spaniards

Inthe end, though, only the Kalinagos and some
other small tribes would survive the coming ofthe
Europeans. The Kalinagos in the Lesser Antilles
held off attempts to subjugate them, so the Spanish
and then the English and French left well enough
alone. The mo

that, unlike

important consequence ofthis was
ihr tbe, the Kalinagos did not
become widely exposed to European dseates. This

is probably why all the living people of Amerindian
descent inthe Caribbean trace thei ancestry to
the Caribe

102 he

Indigenous art forms

With limestone being one of ther major product,
itis not surprising thatthe Maya had a tradition of
sculpture and relief carving. Their visual art
reached its apex between 600 and 900 ap, and
seemed to have been based on the principles of
painting rather than sculpture. The rele earving
told a story and was detailed ina way quite unlike
the simpler carvings found in other Meso-
American cultures. Only the stonework has
survived, although there must have been other

artwork created out of wood, gourds feathers and
o on. There were probably also murals, now
destroyed by the wet topical climate. A few
wooden objects have been preserved, such as the

Tints of Tikal, which have scenes showing
the Maya rulers and thie guardian deities, The wet
climate also destroyed their mural ar

“The Maya artists also carved in jade, which was
their most precious substance. The jade was mainly
fashioned into thin plaques, caved in relief oF into
beads, Since they did not have metal tools, the
tists used abrasives and water with cane or
pethaps other pieces ofjade to create their works,
‘which is tesimony to just how skilled they were

Since the Tainos and Kalinagos had a smaller and
simpler environment, their art was technically less
complex, We know they had jewellery, such as
rings nose rings, pendants and necklaces,
‘which were fashioned from bone, stone and
sometimes gold. They probably also did body

ES

(D Mayan pottery intended fr burl with the honoured
ead was usually pad or caved with sens of
ature ang oer, ate macabre visions, 4 as
range rete and weld scan

© Their pottery as bright and shining pohcirome,
which te Mya ptes achieve y fs! iting in
emitrarloen ss over a background) ren
firing the esl at very ow temperature

{© Too al wor th suitors eared tl scree
fore th vers vere fied ten ised he process
tosh te chorion,

w

18. 1

painting, but no images of this artwork remain
and we know ofthis custom only from the wr
records of the Europeans,

he simplicity oftheir lifestyle and environment
also meant thatthe island inhabitants had no
architecture beyond that oftheir huts. The Maya,
however, built huge palaces and temples with
distinct architectural styles and features. These
buildings were made of stone and limestone blocks,
‘ornamented with complex relief carvings, and have
lasted for centuries,

The Maya used rubble and cement, just ike
modern builders. This material formed the base of
their temple platforms, which were then covered

with thick ayers of past

The platform was a
foursided, tucco-covered, stepped pyramid and
there were usually stone masks of gos on every

side, Maya architeets also used the corbel vault
principle in vir temples, which means they
constructed arch-ike structures with sides hat
extend inward untl they meet tthe top This
makes the building stronger and more sable,

religion vas based on nature. As we
‘now from their writing system, which was
deciphered only in the early and mid-201h century,
the Maya worshipped gods who represented the
sun, moon, rain and corn. This tell us thatthe
main purpose of worship was to ensure good crops.

the meas of communication between ran bins

‘Systematic explorations of de Mayan sites were fist
Undertaken in the 1830s, and a small portion ofthe
tng system was deciphered a hundred years later.
“These discoveries shed some light on Mayan religion,
which was based ona pantheon ofnatue gods,
including hose ofthe sun, he moon, min and com,

‘The Indigenous populations of the Caribbean
islands had a less complex religious system, which is
Dest described as animism; thats, the belie that,
nature has spirits sch as a tee god rain god anda
sun god. Ths ass usualy dhe main god in most
pagan cultures. For the Tsinos, every house had
emi, carved representations of gods, who they
prayed to fr various favours, and here was
‘communal worship overseen by the cacique

19. Individuals also had their personal zemis. AU homes
also had vomit sticks, which people would push
down ther throats to cleanse themselves before going
to worship. There was no priest caste, a with the
Maya, but some individual were considered to have
special mystical or spiial gis, These people

dh same functions as priests: to communicate
‘with the gods task fours or find out her wishes,
to work spells for love or lack or health, to assist the
spirits ofthe dead, to foretell he fare and so on.

The Kalingos are thought to have had similar beliefs
to those ofthe Tios, but itis key that they prayed
‘more for successful ads than succes crops. The

Kalinago of Guyana, for example, pad more
attention in crias to appeasng evil spits han
good spirit, since the former were thought to be
responsible for hurricanes, iseases and death. The
Kalinago were also said to have included cannibalism
as par oftheir region. This has ben disputed by

some scholars, who hi that cannibal was
myth created by Columbus and other Europeans to
demonize the fierce warriors who resisted them

Indigenous science

As in al complex societies ofthis time, the
Maya had a clas of prict w

o were trained in
mathematics and astronomy. This raining was not
senti in the modern sense of performing
‘experiments and creating theories, since the

main purpose of Mayan knowledge wast calculate
the appropriate times for religious rituals and
‘ceremonies. Nonetheless, the Maya's achievements
in these disciplines were impressive. In
mathematics, they had a concept ofzero, which
‘only one other cvilizaion (in India) had ever
invented. Their calendar actually began from a zero
date in 3114 nc, which is more sensible than the
Gregorian calendar used in Wester civiizaio,
which stars fi

eur 1. (This means tat the
20th century ended on 31 December 2001, rather
than 2000.) In astronomy, the Maya accurately

LG The Incienouspropls and he Europeans

calculated the solar year, which they summedas 18
‘months of20 days, plus an unlucky five-day period.
They also compiled precise tables of positions for
the moon and the planet Venus and they eo

predict solar eclipses

The island Amerindian, like all human groups,

Had a technology invented mainly for hunting and
fighting. Their simplest hunting tool was a
‘wooden club used to ill birds and other animals,

‘They also used baskets and traps to catch ish
"Their weapons included spears and avelins tipped
with ihbone points. They also used bows and
arrows for both hunting and fighting, and some
groups üpped their arrows with poison, However,
the favoured weapon was the aa, or spear
end anda

thrower device with a handle ato

cup or spur that the spear rests against, which was

sed to add distance and force. The Tainos in
Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo also had stone
hatchets and axes

Asa migratory people, the islands’ inhabitants also
developed a asic boat technology. Their dug-out
‘canoes were made well enough to pl the often
‘ough waters between islands and they could make
Doats big enough to hold large crew: between
ight and 15 rowers. However, hey never
“developed the sailor planks for boat building.

Agriculture
Agriculture was the centre of Amerindian socet
since A

rindians depended on dis for survival.
The relative sophistication oftheir agricultural
practices is perhaps best illustrated by their
cultivation of eassva, which was grow in large
fre-leared fields and was used as we se bread
today Although easily grown, cassava is ho
poisonous, but the Amerindians were able to solve
this problem by inventing the matapi to squeeze the
poison out. The matap is along cylindrical basket
into which the finely grated cassava is put. The
basket is hn twisted units res rush all he
Juice out, thus removing he poison, The remaining
‘dy meal was shaped int a flat cake and baked ona
grid o make cassava bread. The juice was not
wasted as it was a key ingredient in casarep, which

w

20. isa preservative agent the Amerindians used to keep
(hir fod from spoiling, justas modern people use
refrigerators. Fish and meats were put into a pot
with easareep along with peppers, and this

prev

living in the Guiana tll use these techniques toy

ed spoilage for several days. Amerindians

pers

rot ith coming of sewed meat
tabs vu Rous wi care.

o —

© It was brea fom avi grs ames tent
© The ofthat ras was pal about n ticker

© Through active breeding over 700 years the
Date Americans era ange test to

© Com became a ap inthe USA at boro
discovery te Europa conquerors inte southern

The Amerindians also cultivated yams, beans,
aguas, pav-paws and pineapples, and these crops
spread from the New World back to Europe and,
in the cae of yam, Africa, where it became an

important staple

Hung supplied protein forthe Amerindian’ ie
Traps, pears, and bows and arrows were the main
hunting tools to atch birds sh and agouti, apes,
ques and other smal game Today the Guiana
Amerndiansare skilled spear fishing ~ they can
‘stand ina muddy sve, detect the slight ripple on

the wate’ surface made bya swimming hand
accurately throw thei pea, calcuaing rom he ipl
what direction the fish is heading in and how fs.

Maya ino Kalnago
‘he Maya beled Teaios Tee Kalinages
songs behind
Sito alma ina sito,
vas base onthe
costera.
sort wor

Qutrakont, the the versal” Anawaea and is
eat Gedand Creator Auber, tote Von
tar here the mors
‘They offered | They id ot ave Thy tered
eed acces offerings to ir material goods
andthe bed gosh semi, suchas fod
that torture an swat
aman acres
rout fry.

Posen sons
‘They worshipped They hast Theyhad ve
guésuto ses of pris eis of sit
represented the bth god andevl. beh god ar xl
smoot lo
an con. The
main purse of
worsip nas to
sure gon res.

The coming of the Europeans
Factors which led to Columbus's voyages
Historias have offered many reasons for Christopher
Columbus wanting to sal to the west inorder to reach
the cat. Some sy he wanted to prove that the Earth
was round, orto discover gold arto convert the
peoples of China and India to Christianity: Whatever
(Columbus motives were, the real questions why
the Spanish King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella,

decide to finance his voyages.

The answer in pics. In he modern world, we car
almost any spice we want just by going to be
nearest grocery store or market and we do not pay a
Fortune for dhem, However since 200 ne, when Greck
merchants began trading with India products such as
Pepper, cinnamon ginger and nutmeg were the most
profiable wading goods and were so expensive that,
only thee could afford wo buy them. Such
Aavourings were in high demand among te upper
clas to improve the taste of European dishes. A
1,700-year-old Roman cookbook, notably cal for
pepper in 349 ofits 468 recipes

21. Most ofthese spices came from east and south Asa,
For Europeans there were only three ways to reach
the suppliers of spices: through the Gulf of Sue,
the Persan Gulf, or around Africa's southern cape,
‘or through unmapped seas othe west The
navigator who could finda route through the west,
therefore, would also find his way to great riches as
would the sponsors who would share in the profits

Ocean in order to find an alternate route tothe
Indies were the Genoese of aly, so tin

coincidence that Columbus was himselffrom

Genoa, even though by the time he undertook his

voyages Portugal was the mai seafaring nation i
Europe. Columbus sailed south tothe African Gold
Coast (present-day Ghana), west tothe Azores, and

north to Ireland. Columbus was thus well prepared

for his voyages of exploration.

© In 205 es e Gree soar Erstens cleats
‘he crcumteereof he Earth sng the fat hat a
‘ep wl ne iy of Cyne in soute Est had its
Bottom etre itty the un a on ana era day
ofthe ya and that objets In te ey of Alenia
casta shadow atte same tne, whch meant hatte
Inter aches unig a a lernt a.

©

in enemeiy,Eratstranes menu |
ieumferens of he Earth to win 3% of ca
‘ale 014,000 mates (28,900 mis) without
© Armor accurate mesuremen vas ot doe uni >

‘housag years ter inthe ate Tein century y a
large tam frances by the French goverment nan
rie that ook sven years to compete

‘That spices were on Columbus's mind is
confirmed bya letter from a famous Florentine
hysician and mapmaker Paolo dal Pozzo

oscanll who told Columbus that he approved
of his fellow Italian's ambition to ‘pass over to
where the spices grow”. Columbus also wanted to
convert the Asian peoples to Christianity: Despite
the widespread claim that Columbus wanted to
prove that the Earth was round this is unlikely

Since few ifany educated people in the medieval
cra believed thatthe Earth was flat.

Columbus voyage was not without opponents
Scholars in the 15th century though that
Columbus planned voyage was impossible

not because they thought the Earth was at, but
because they saw, correctly hat Columbus

estimate ofthe distance between Europe and Asia
vasto short by about 25%, in fact. The scholars
calculated thatthe distance between the two
continents was about 12,500 miles, which meant a
four-month voyage at top speed for vesels and in
that ra no ship could stock enough supplies for
that long a time, In fact, Columbus had not
encountered the Americas, which he did not know

a

22. 2

CHINA

ANR non Kungchou
Eng Tong
dal Maza Santos)
- cto
Artica ai Pose,

— Cnnamen route
| Gover
Desretofinda M wave rece the need for ‘The Renaissance That à pad ferial a
route to Inia hina miósiomen traders ar create ars and eters Europe It
andthe East Indes profi led toa groing sense of
TInereasingly The soiled rod t Chins ‘nationalism andthe search or
(eat land routes, ar Ina has become afl ang Pew ano rene resources

Carper win te al of and wealth
‘onsartincple ote toman Mercamtikem There was a dese to crease
Tun, national wealth tro trade with
Desire to spread Europeans wares estab foreign trai
Chang less wth ter Christin, Slory “There vas dsr for ar and
sol van tetra! of te popularity in Eve
Mears and sim movement ito Breakdown nthe Onl frst tor son were eile to
part of Euros, system of vatslage er process wil ote sons
Development in An mpro compas te à 0e themes on tir
navigation asta ars quadrant, Ts reste a 0p of men
and portla maps had ben ho were keen 1 care eat
Arion, ar property rosa

Improvements in
shipbuilding

Ships were sturdier than previos

‘The emergence ofa
new lass of
merchants and
traders

“These people wre lit fund

23. existe, he and his crew would have died from
starvation. However, he did not realize this and,
thinking he ad really reached India, he labelled
the native inhabitants Indians’ before finding out
what they called themselves. In fact it was not uni
his third voyage othe Caribbean that Columbus
realized he was nowhere near Asia

Columb
an island in the Bahamas archipelago, which the

Indigenous people called Guanahaní The natives,
whom anth

‚and his crew of 90 men frst landed on

pologists now clasifyas Western

Tainos and who the Spanish called Lucayos, came
out tothe Spanish ships on thei boats and by
swimming, When the Spaniards came on shore,

the natives offered them parrots and cotton
thread wrapped in darts and skeins to trade.

‘The Spaniards in their turn offered them red

caps, green glass heads, brass rings and small
bells. Columbus wrote that the natives took
much pleasure in these trinkets

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

le as employed sa chart maker but ako

5 et inches lor men ry wih reais ring
character was sid e subte, slo! and
sl tbe chosen y Ged fer a sell mission wien

lamar 1492, esccsfuy come Kia
Ferdinand and Queen bai of Spain fund a vr

ste Alan cea, They gave him hee ips —
Nate Pint athe Santa Mari anton ps ort

Vonases

Reson, Vin san Sat Cro, Ais, Mes,

a Toba, reno, La ela

24. 2

He renamed the island San Salvador and, after
meeting the natives, took six Tainos back to his.
ship with the intention of teaching them Spanish
0 they could serve as interpreters as he sailed
deeper into the region. Later in his dary
Columbus wrote:

“These men are al travelling with me,and

they have been with u for a lon

that have descended from Heaven, On ou
arrival at any new place, they publish this,

her Indians, “Come, come, and look upon

Whether the Tainos realy considered the Spaniards
tobe supernatural being i not clear, One

word forthe Spaniards was guar
translate as “covered men. Col

he was able to use the interpreters in most places he

landed in, soit seems that the inhabitants ofthe
Bahamas and the Greater Antilles spoke he ame
language, or closely related languages,

San Salado and yo de

He landed next on the shore of Cuba, then
crossed the Windward Passage to Hispanioh,
There, onthe north coast he was received by the
local chief, whose name was Guacanagar. At this
point, Columbus had only one ship, the Nina, lft
‘The Pinta had broken away from the convoy,

because the sailors on board did not want to go
any further into the unknown seas and wanted to
search for gold. Then the Santa Maria foundered
on a coral ref, and had tobe lef along with most
ofits erew, for repars. Columbus left the men
With provisions for one year and sailed back to

Spain on 15 March 1493, He would not see them
alive again,

‘Columbus took the six Tainos back with him,
and is reported to have named one Diego, which
was also the name of Columbus's eldest son.
‘This Taino youth served as Columbus's
interpreter on his second voyage, which left
Spain in September 1493, and which this tn
had 17 ships with 1,500 men, including a
doctor, a mapmaker and several clercs. Diego
had been baptized when he was given his new
name. One of the cleric, Father Ramón Pan

studied the Taino religion on this journey, and it
is from his records that much of our knowledge
ofthe Taino's now-vanished culture con
However, al his data was collected in one small
territory in Hispaniola, so many o his findings
are not necessarily rue of all the Taino groups
Even the names below may not have been used
by all the Tainos, since they also had diferent
languages.

Her Fri (Land oe ming

On this second trip, Columbus learned from
the Tainos thatthe Lesser Antilles extended

inher into the Atlantic Ocean than he had
thought, With Tainos as his guides, Columbus
was able to shorten his journey through the
region and and at more islands, He went from
Dominica to Guadeloupe, where there was a
sixday delay when the landing party got lost
inthe forest. twas here that the tales of
cannibalism started among the Europeans,
because the sailors found dismembered human
remains which had heen used in rituals by the
island Caribs

25. However all accounts of cannibalism are based on
European records, expecially Columbus's diary,
which has been described by Caribbea
anthropologist Basil Reid sa any of al trs,
anecdotl descriptions, hearsay and preconceived

Eurocentric ideas about the native people ofthe
Caribbean. The Spanish used the term ‘cannibals
to describe any native groups which resisted them,

a vel asthe term Can

‘When Columbus returned to Hispaniola on
28 November 1493, where he hal his men
building for, he found the structure destroyed and
his men dead. Chef Guacanagart claimed thatthe
Spaniards had been ile by another chief, Caonabo,
‘who ruled over region in the southern par ofisland.
CCaonabo had eaced to aggression by the Spaniards
‘who had stolen fom the Timos and aped the women.
Columbus continued hisjoumey on 24 April 1494,
sailing to the Greater Anes, He landed in Jamaica,
hearing ther war geld on hen he
fled to find the precious metal, went on to Cuba

head

On Columbus's fourth voyage in 1502, sustained

period of storms as well asa worm infestation ofthe

ship's planks foreed him to bach his vessel at St
Ann's Bay in northern Jamaica in June, He and his
crew were marooned there for over a year. Two,
‘canoes were dispatched to Hispaniola to get help
from another Spanish convoy which had landed
there. Columbus organized a system of barter with
the natives, exchanging goods fr food such as
cassaa bread and maize, but alo agouti and
iguanas. Columbus ordered his men to stay on

Board unless he gave permission for hem to leave

and over 100 men were crowded into huts built on
the deck, frecatle and poop. After afew months
living like this, some ofthe men mutinied.

11.68 The Indigenous popes nd te European

(On 2 January 1503, the mutincers ef the ship and,
began outfiting canoes to row to Hispaniola, Just
20 healthy men, and those oo sick to move, stayed
on board the waterlogged ship with Columbus
The muincer set off on the high sea, but were
soon driven back by the high winds and strong,
current, Having landed back on Ja

‘began attacking the natives and stealing fom them.

ca, they

Asa result, the natives refused to supply any more
food to Columbus's remaining crew: However,
Columbus was able t frighten them into doing so;
by threatening to kill the moon. He knew that
Lamar eclipse was due in January 1504 and when

this occurred, seemingly at Columbus's command,
the natives promised to resume supplying food ihe
would restore the moon. The erew was finally
rescued in the June of 1504, but Columbus was
and died two years later. He asked for his remains

to be carried tothe Caribbean and buried there

Impact of the New World on Europe

‘The discovery of vast landmass, supposedly fled
With riches for dhe taking, naturally caused great
interest in Europe. Younger sons who were notin
line o inherit thee father's wealth, military officers
who had no employment in times of peace, the

outside children of noblemen and persons fleeing
the lw all saw the New World asa place where they
could make hei fortunes, The kings and queens of
Europe were no less excited; they thought the
action of gold and silver would mean wealdh

and power or themselves and their nations.

The most immediate confit involved the two
foremost seafaring nations ofthe times Portugal and
Spain. When the Nii the Pinta and the Santa
Maria left the harbour of Palos de a Frontera on

3 August 1492, this duel had already been going on
fora long time. Many of the political and military
isputes hetseen the two countries were mediated
hy the Roman Catholic Church, forthe Pope had

more power than any monarch in these centuries,
The trouble was, diferent Popes, or sometimes the
same Pope, fivoured Portugal atone time and Spain
thenext

3

26. Pope Nicholas Vin the mid-15th century issued a
Papal Bull known asthe “Charter of Portuguese
Imperalsm? which praised the King of Portugal

and authorized him to conquer and convert all he
pagans between Morocco and India. However just

ght days after Columbus left Spain on his fiat
voyage, Spaniard was installed as Pope, taking the
title Alexander VI. The new Pope ised a Papal
Bull giving Spain ownership of new land discovered
by Spanish explorers.

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2

27. ‘The second Papal Bull naturally outraged
Portuguese, especially since they had ben the first
European to explore the African coast. The
Portuguese monarch John I decided to bypass the
corrupt Pope Alexander VI and negodat directly
‘wth Ferdinand and Isabella This eto the Treaty

‘of Tordesillas. Before Columbus's voyage, such a
treaty would not have been agreed to by either
ration, but Portugal had just found a sea route to
the Indian Ocean and Spain had two new
continents to play with,

Another effect ofthe New World was o increase

vars bet
already fighting one another within Europe and on

he European nations. They were

the high seas, but now the arena of war was moved
to the Caribbean. The Briish and French
‘competed mos fiercely withthe Spaniards, and

vith each othe, to seize the islands and seule
colonies om them. St Lucia was conquered 17 times
y France and Britain alternately: Martinique and
Guadeloupe changed hands seven times, Tobago
Six imes and St Vincent and Grenada four times,

This was the main reason why piracy in the
(Caribbean began. Spain was becoming wealthy
fiom ts South American and Caribbean
possessions, The Spanish Crown was using this
‘wealth to finance wars against other European
powers, such asthe French, the English and the
Dut

“nd so becoming more powerful

Since it would have been dificult to take over the
Spanish colonies in South America and the
Caribbean, the other European monarchs decided
to attack the Spaniards a ea. The French were the
first to use this strategy inthe 16th century, but the
French government did not have a big enough navy
to overcome the Spanish ships Instead, the
government gave oficial letters to private ship
‘owners which allowed the owners to capture

Spanish ship legally and even take control of towns
‘until dhe Spanish government paid a ransom. These

Lo Te

gens pls andthe Europeans

‘privateers as they were called, were pirates who
were financed by businessmen who expected to
‘make a prof from trading the goods seized from
the Spanish ships or the ansoms pad forthe
captured towns.

In 1523, French prvater took a very valuable
‘cargo when it captured two Spanish galleons near
the Azores, These ships were part of fleet coming
from Mexico with teasues from the palace ofthe
Autec emperor Montezuma, This treasure included
gold mass, jewelled head-dresses, and mul
coloured feathered cloaks. When athe prats
learned about this hoot, they flocked tothe
(Caribbean, centring their operations in the
Bahamas where they waited to attack Spanish ships
inthe Florida Channel, Spanish setdements in the
Caribbean were also plundered. In 1553, French
Pirate named Frangoi le Clere, with fet of 10
Ships, attacked neatly evry Spanish-oecupied
island in the Caribbean,

he war between Spain and France ended with the
Treaty of Cateau-C

mbresis in 1559, but both sides
admitted that pracy was out of contrl and could

not be stopped. However, the privateers no longer
Had the support ofthe French government and so
would be arrested and wed if they were caught
"This agreement lasted until the 17¢h century when
France and Spain went to war again, but pracy did
not stop in peacetime or wat

ted most fran tn ea?

One ofthe most succesful English pirates was
Francis Drake. In 1572, Drake rided a land convoy
of mule loaded with Peruvian silver. So profitable
vas this aid that every sailor went home a ich
‘man, Between 1585 and 1586, Drake sole more
than £300,000 in booty ftom Spanish ships and
towns, However, such raids became more dificult
as the towns became bigger and more fortified, and
Setup squadrons to patrol he region. Drake's last

2

28. trp, between 1595 and 1596, was defeated bythe
Spaniards, even though Drake now had a fet of
27 ships He tried to attack the town of San Juan
Puerto Rico, and was forced to retreat. Drake lost
12 ships, eventually died from dysent
feet retumed to England with no profs,

Another famous pirate was Henry Morgan. He
became commander of British pirates, known as

‘buccaneers in 1668. The term ‘buccaneers came
from the French word ‘boucan’ Pirates who seed
on the island of Tortuga between raids hunted hogs

and preserved the meat in strips wrapped in
aromatic leaves called “boucan’ The meat kept for
‘months and prevented scurvy. Morgan captured the
town of Puerto Principe (now Camagtiy) in Cuba,
and sacked the city of Portobelo on the Isthmus

‘of Panama. In is lst aid in August 1670, with

36 ships and nearly 2,000 buccaneers, Morgan set
‘ut to capture Panama, defeating a large Spanish
force in 1671. The city burned tothe ground while

his men were lotingit and on the return journey
Morgan deserted his men and disappeared with
most ofthe booty

However, Morgan's rad on Panama had taken place
after the conclusion of peace between England and
Spain. He was arrested and transporte to London

April 1672. Luckily for him be peace did not lst,
and in 1674 King Charles I knighted Morgan and
appointed him as Deputy Governor of Jamaica.
Morgan ive atthe right time for pirates and was
abl to use England’ conflicts to enrich himself He
lived out his days asa rich plante in Jamaica

Spain was also at war with the Netherlands.
Holland was trading nation soit already had
many ships plying the Caribbean searoutes, and
between 1569 and 1609 Dutch privaeers were also
very active in the region. The Dutch were a major
presence, but hey were mainly there to trade rather
than colonize. Even o, Dutch pirates proved tobe a
headache for the Spanish, and diverted enough
Spanish shipsand men for the Brish and Fr
colonize most ofthe Leser Antilles. Ina nine-year
period, the British colonized St Kitts (1625),
Barbados (1625), Nevis (1628) and Antigua (1632)
‘The conflict between these various European
powers was most leary played ou afer the Haitian

chto

Revolution in 1791, when Brain, Spain and the
USA cooperated with the Haitian forces at various
times to defeat the French,

It has alo been argued tha the Americas helped spur
the Industral Revolution, by providing raw materials,
especial cotton, to Britain and other European
nations, aswell as offering place to export their
growing populations. The Industrial Revolution was
‘whatallowed Europe, especially Britain, to become
the most power region in the wold

The discovery of huge ser depositsin Pert and
Mexico created a new global monetary system, in
hich the Spanish eghtreal coin had the
significance of dhe US dollar in the 20 century.
‘This wealth from silver also had lng tern negative
“cts on Spain because instead of producing goods

for wade, the Spaniards could now buy whatever
they needed from other countries. This would
ensure that Spain over the next few centuries would

lose out to other Europe
England, which would become the dominant power
in dhe world forthe next four hundred years

ton, in particular

“The most sigifcan impact on Europe from the New
World did not come rom precious metal, which was
the main concer of the Spaniards, but rom crops.
Within few decades of Columbus second voyage
in 1498, which had 17 vessels and 1,300 colonists,
the exchange of com, wheat, coffe tea and sugar
betwen the continents had forever changed the
work's agricultural and labour markets,

Impact of the Europeans on
the Indigenous peoples

When the Europeans landed in South America and
the Caribbean, they brought with them a weapon
far more deadly to the native inhabitants han any
sword. In their bodies the Spanish carried microbes
to whic they were immune, but which were deadly

to the Indigenous Amerindian, Over two centuries,
afer Columbus's arial, smallpox, measles,
influenza and typhus infected and killed 95% ofthe
Amerindian populations ofthe New Word. In
Hispaniola, he native population may have heen
between 200,000 and one milion people in 1492,
By 1535, the majority had died out.

29. Why were the Indigenous Americans so
susceptible to these diseases and why did New
World microbes no kil the Europeans in the same
way? The first reason was time: microbes

co-evolved with humans in Afia, and the
Europeans had a long history of animal farming,
which allowed them to develop resistance to
diseases ( that people who had had cowpox, for
‘example, became immune to smallpox). Fla,
typhus, tuberculosis, malaria, plague, measles and
cholera are other infectious diseases that evolved
from microbes that fist developed in animals. The
invading Europeans were not siniarly led on a
mass scale by New World diseases, because the
New World inhabitants over the succeeding

generations probably lost whatever immunities
they may have had when they frst entered the

continent thousands of years before. Also, they
had wiped out all the species in the Americas

which might have been domesticated so no new

diseases evolved therefrom contact between
animals and humans, Were not for this, he
hana of Spanish conquistadores who fist came
to the Americas could not have so eaily
conquered the empires ofthe Aztecs and Incas.

The Spanish also cleared the way for the
Europeans who came after them, fie displacing

the Spanish themselves, Ten European nations

fought over and colonized the various Caribbean
is

ds. Apart from Spain, the counties most
active in the region were Britain, France and the

Netherlands. Germany, Sweden, Malt, an
Denmark also had colonists at various times and
From the 19th century the USA had economic and
military interest in the Caribbean.

Although the Spanish colonies were taken over by
several ofthe other powers, the Spanish names, as.

vel as architectural styles, were dhe frst European

stamp puton the region. The Spanish colonial

towns for example, were built in a standard pattern.

The centr hada town plaza, with a church and
syors office and other important government
lings. Strets were lid out ina meat grid at
angles. Houses were bui of stone or brick,

and constructed wih thick wall against huricanes
and to keep the interior cool in the tropical heat,

Ths, the villages of the natives were razed or
displaced tothe interior of the islands and he
settlements ofthe Caribbean took ona European-
based appearance that persists to this day Ofallthe
“Amerindian groups, only the Caris survived the
European onslaught, and that is because many of
them retreated 0 the mountains ofthe Lesser
Antilles, which the Europeans did not oceupy: Even
soin 1651, the French defeated the Carbs in
Grenada and in 1773 the British did the same in St
Vincent. Nowadays, the remaining Caribs live
mainly in Dominica and St Vincent, while some

persons of mixed Amerindian ancestry are found in
Aruba, Trinidad and the Greater Anils

st Viner rsa os Ti Ue the

ve

erate masters ad to te Spanish Chrisans
rapes, re on
19 weak an cal, y are ess abe o eae

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Spas at tha tie? |

30. ‘The ist Spanish seulement was in Hispaniol’s
northern coast, established by Columbus on his
second voyage in 1493. All dhe lager islands, such as
Guba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica were also settled,
Which isthe main rason why some Amerindians

in the smaller islands managed to survive. The

Spaniards fis demande bute rom the
Amerindians, mainly gold from those who lived near
the mines and cotton from the others. However the
Amerindians had never mined gold or woven cotton
for more han their own use and many oftem could

ot produce what the Spaniards wanted.

Impact ofthe Europeans onthe Inigenous peoples

Genocue

© The Indienous population wer nerned so
groups existes throughout the Caribbean region.

Forced abou or stems of eniaement were

© Reprtanieno sytem —apercerane fhe
us male population between e age of 18
an 0 was rer to work or a parara fra

New toes llseases were introduce
© Inara eo

dut mais were moved from

felt Oo tae ails wo pla

Infantii was eae aut
© Mary pares prefer oil er able because
so UT +

+
Tano women were sexual explote

The Inigenus peoples et hi Land and their
sere

There wer changes In Inigenus reis practices
duet the forced amer o Chistian

‘There was bresidown o Amerindian culture as the
Taro and Kalraos ha wo conform to European
way ote,

When Columbus was faced witha threat of
rebellion fom his own men, he gave them land!
granıs which included the forced labour of the
Amerindians, This was the encomienda system.
“The Spanish monarchy, with no sense of paradox,
insisted that the Amerindians be treated a eee
persons, which meant that they would be forced to
‘work only six o eight months in the mines, be fed
and retain the right to thei property orto buy
(hir freedom. Most important ofall fom the

was perspective, the colonists ad to ensure
that the Amerindians were instructed and
converted 0 the Catholi ith, since this would
ensure that in return for thie bou ther souls
would be saved

“The Americas were changed forever by the arrival
ofthe Europeans. Having destroyed the
Indigenous way off, the Europeans then also
changed the flora, fauna and the population itself
They brought pigs, which flourished in the new
tervtory aswell a cae and horses They also
brought new plans, Coconut trees, now an iconic

nage in tourist brochures of the Caribbean
islands, did not grow here before they were
brought from south Asia, Nor did mangoes,
bananas, oranges or sugar cane,

lt was to be sugar that would shape the history of
the region, and beyond, for he next 400 years

Impact of the Indigenous people
on the Europeans

‘themselves had litle direct impact on Ex
for those political and économie effects mentioned

31. above. However, the very existence of people whom
the Bible did not mention was to change the
Eurocentric view ofthe world. The intellectual
ndermining of Christan belief, as wel as the
realization that Europe was relatively small par of
the planet, were th first steps toward the
Enlightenment movement ofthe

staring in France and E

land. The widespread
deaths and enslavement ofthe Amerindian also
aroused intense moral debates in Spain, with the
Catholic priest Bartolomé delas Casas being the
best-known champion. Although at the time all
such effects were confined to mere discussion the

REVISION QUESTIONS

25 mare)
X Pat Paper Bai Prony, Mle 202

2. Read he passage blo

Recommended reading
Anon M Th ol Qua Ti four ag of Char

ideas that wee introduced at this time were to
shape Europe in the coming centuries, That change
stated, in part, because ofthe Europeans
interactions with the Amerindian.

they recognized the portae oliva |

re reson why Columbus ma his voyage

tote en or, 2 mars)
that he Spain found when ey

(otal = 25 mark)
CX Fat Papers Bust Proficiency, Mayne 2002

3 Cia examine the impact,

(25 maris)

(25 maris)

a

32. 2

The Caribbean economy
and slavery

Before 1492 the main reasons for trade between
‘countries in Asia and counties in Europe were food
and scents. This was why spice were so profitable
for Asian merchants to trade with Europeans. Aer
the Europeans arrived in the New World, however,
world trade was driven by stimulants such a cole,
teaand sugar At fit tas mainly wealthy people
‘who consumed these product, but expanded
cultivation in the Americas brought prices down
‘unl consumption ofsugar and coffe, along with

acoo, became widerpread in Europe, expecially in
England, even among the es wel-of Before hat
stage came though, it was spices which, indirect;
‘created the trade in enslaved ficas to the
Americas and the Caribbean.

As you learned in Chapter 1, here were only three
‘ways to reach the Indian Ocean and the supplies of
spices: through the Suez or the Persian Gulf or
around Africa's southern cap, or through
‘unmapped seas to the west

"The Europeans wanted to contol the last two
routes, since the Suez Gulf was already dominated
by Arab and Asian merchants and rulers. Table 2.1
list the most powerful Asian trading states fom hat
era and the present day countries where they are
located. One ofthe lessons we Lam from history is

that even the most powerful counties and
individuals may be Forgotten in the passage of tine
For example, Aech, which was one ofthe wealthiest
states inthe 1th century in the 2st century is
justa remote underdeveloped town which became
Known to the world only when it was it by a
tsunami in 2004, Similar none ofthe other city
states listed is located in the world’s richest and
most powerful countries toda

Senat

Although the merchants and rulers from the Middle
ast and India dominated trade routes and markets,
hardly anyone was prevented from doing business

33. wherever he wanted to, Any merchant from any
country as longa he paid customs fees, gave gifts
to local sultans and fought off pirates, could trade
with anyone. But the Europeans, especially the
Portuguese, wanted to control the high seas
through superior naval power which they could use
to cutoff rival merchant vessels, By doing so, they
would give themselves the advantage in trade.

The Portuguese became the fis traders in
captured Aficans to Europe. Prince Henry (known
as Henry the Navigato

patron of maritime scence, He financed not only

1208 The Caribbean onan and slavery

‘voyages, but ship builders and map makers from all
counties, and he had the largest collection of
navigational maps in the world. Portuguese ship
Builds also invented the carave a round-hulled
ship with late rigging (a triangular sail setat a
45-degree angle tothe mast. These ships could sail
closer to the wind than other ships, which had to
tack back and forth longer distances so their sails
coul etch the prevaling winds in order to move
forward, Fit were not fr the carael, the

Portuguese could never have sailed down the
Alcan coast.

HENRY THE NAVIGATOR

34. Exploration stopped for 10 years after Henry's
death, until responsibilty for Arca and the Cape
Verde Islands was handed over to an entrepreneur
named Fernáo Gomes. Gomes not only had to pay
the Crown 200 rs per annum fr he privilege, but
he was also contracted to explore another 300 miles
‘of new coastline very year, so the Portuguese
learned more about that region th
Europeans. In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco
dda Gama reached the est coast of Africa. By then,
the Portuguese had been capturing Aficans for
over 50 years.

Agricultural changes in the Caribbean
When the silos on Columbus's ships landed on
the Caribbean islands in the ch cent
landscape very different from the one which exists
now. The beaches had no coconut trees, but just he
+ and wsted, right green vines that grow in
sandy sol. The only lds were small ones cleared
for casava. There were no lage animals. And, of

they saw

bus

course here were no roads, just trie, and no large
boiling, just hut.

The colonists who arrived in later centuries found
«completely transformed landscape, There were
Banana, orange and mango tees. Horses and cattle
roamed fields, which had cotton plants and cocoa

trees a first Later, even lager clearings would be
Filed with the arrowed leaves of the sugar cane. But
the most obvious transformation was human: no
longer were the islands populated mainly by
Amerindians, but by Aficans and Europeans

‘The European colonists came mainly to make
their fortunes, and the crop which was in
most profitable was tobacco. Cotton, cocos,
coffee and indigo were also favoured, because
a

sell to Europe. The ships, even up tothe 17th
century were quite small, took months to travel
between Europe and the Caribbean, and had no
tion. This meant that any goods which

‘were the most profitable for the colonists to

refige
were perishable, such as fruit and unsalted meats,
‘or which were too bulky, such as timber and
‘atl, were unsuitable for trade. So the goods
produced in the colonies had tobe small and

aimed at a luxury market - thats, they had to be
products that rich people were willing to pay a

high price for. Cocoa and coffee were very
popular among the rch, but tea from the East
Indies began to compete with these beverages,
making it less profitable forthe Caribbean
colonists to grow the erops. Cotton and dyes
(Grom indigo and logwood) were somewhat
profitable, but eloth producers were the only

35. buyers and, until the Industrial Revolution in the
late 18th century made weaving cheaper, there
was not a very high demand for cotton or dyes.
Tobacco, however had none ofthese production
problems, The crop had the following advantages.
© lt was not perishable once ts leaves were cued
© A good quantity could be stored in small
packages for transport
+ levas easy 1 grow since the la

yer and his

family, perhaps with afew labourers could
clivateit

o Hdi
buildings or livestock

ned large investment in machinery,

© Smoking tobacco was a fashionable habit among
the aristocracy in Europe.

However, by the 17th century sugar cane had taken

over from tobacco as a more profiable crop for

production inthe Caribbean, This was mainly

because tobacco in the US colony of Virginia vas

cheaper and of better quality than Caribbean
tobaceo. Sugar had all the same advantages as
tobacco listed above, except that it required more

Tabour and more investment. Before the dante

slave trade provided a cheap source of abou,
honey was cheaper than sugar to use asa
sweetener, However, even honey was becoming,

expensive, as tea and coffee became more popular.

THE ORIGIN OF SUGAR CANE

African enslavement
Reasons for enslaving Africans

Early in the moming of August 1444, in Lagosin
Portugal 235 enslaved Afticans were offloaded

zamecı

[THE sucar REVOLUTIO

pes Alan wre reprint

he is I =

from six Portuguese ships. This was the first
commercial transportation of captured Aficans o
Europe. Their arrival was recorded by Eannes de

Zurara, a courtier to Prince Henrys brother

Some kept her head low and thie ac
bathed in teas, looking one upon another
Others stood groaning very dolorously,
looking up o the hei sing

struck their faces with dhe palms of ther hand,
throwing themselves at fll ength upon the

ground; while others made

So began four centuries of lave shipments from
Africa. However, ths was not the beginning of
slavery itself. Since the Agricultural Revolution
10,000 years before, faring communities and
pastoral tribes had become more numerous than
hunter gatherer bans, Such large human groups,
settled in one place, allowed the development of
architecture, writing systems and extensive trade.

36. ‘The large settlements also made it possible for
individual to specialize in one skill or task. So, for
the first me in human history there were diferent,
classes of people who did specific tasks: aristocrats
priests, soldiers, merchants and slaves

Once there were nations from Europe to China to
India to Persia, there was alo slavery In fact, the
word slave” comes fom Slay" (people from
Yugoslavia), which was the main group enslaved in
rope: But why did Aficans become targeted for
Labour on the plantations ofthe New World?

abited by hunter:

Inthe past Africa was mainly
satherer bands who survived using stone-age
technology: By 900 ap, one wie, the Bat, had
developed wet-limate crops, suchas yams, ad
had added iron tool from the Sahel zone to their

arsenal. They also had genetic resistance to malaria,
‘This combination gave them an advantage over the
other tribal groups. Eventually the Bant were able
to conquer the other tribes, orinter-martied with

them, and the Bantu tribe became the main one in

the sub-Saharan region. However, agricultural
productivity in Africa never Mlourished because the
soils were poor and techniques such as crop.
rotation, irigation and ferization with manure
were not practised. The plough was invented only
in Ethiopia, and there were no wheeled vehicles,
ratermils or windmills, The main tools were
digging sticks, ron hocs axes and machetes.

he region which mainly concer us is West
Central Africa, since this was he area from which
most Africans were brought to the Caribbean.
Human beings first appeared in the arca over
100,000 years ago. By the late Stone Age, which is
10,000 years ago these humans tools and rock art
could be found throughout the region in many
archaeological sites. We know how these

preiterate people lived by studying their stone
tools, which do not decay, and by their food

renmants, such as nuts. The ancient West Africans
hunted game and gathered plants for their diet
Women were the main gatherers and knew which
plants were edible, where they could be found,
which were good for medicines or for making
clothing, and how to process them. Edible plants
included tubers which were dug out of the sol

sing digging sticks; fruits and nuts; melon,
squash, pumpkins and calabashes; and the seeds
ofa few grasses, which were crushed using

‘grinding stones. Tubers were the most import
plant, because they were the main source of high-
‘energy carbohydrates In the drier areas, pumpkins
and melons were also important because oftheir
high water content,

Around 400 Bc, or 2,400 years ago, migrants
from the topical rain forest of western equatorial
Africa came tothe Lower Congo and ino the
northern part of West Central Arcs, These

groups brought ceramics and root crops, along.
‘with Banta languages, This created a cultural
shift in he region, and by 800 or 900 ap the
region had a unified culture. Women were

probably the crucial agent inthis process
because they married between communities, they
chose which languages to teach their children and
they carried technological and even cultural
innovations from one community t the next. The
main languages in West Central Africa today ate
from the Njl language Family, because this came
to dominate all the other Bantu languages that
‘were originally spoken. The adoption of cereal,
foods was also a key factorin unifying the region

Before the 16th century, West Africans ate

rice millet, African yam and bananas dit that
provided only minimal national needs, When
‘cassava and maize were imported fom the Americas,
the West African population began to increas, since
these crops allowed more people tobe fed. However,
this increase only ensured that West and Central
Aca’ population did not dramatically decline
asthe European lave traders took milions of people
to the New World overa 400-ycar period,

37. The slave trade changed the relationships between
rulets and the ruled in Africa. Most groups in
Africa were chieflainships, The chiefs ruled over

particular territories, and the larger the territory

the more powerful the chief, Historians estimate
that these units frst began abot

alt

Tinguists can estimate when the fst words for

hitis impossible 0 be cerain. But

(chief began tobe used, such as ohámba (which
means he who surpasses al others), soma, sobs,
and homphá. The size ofthese chieftainships
increased dramatically after the Adantic slave
trade got underway in the 17th century. By the
750, the network of slave merchants within
Africa covered the lands ofthe upper Kasai and
Lena basin to the upper Zambezi River

202 The care

Wherever here were friendly chiefs along the
caravan routes, their villages beca
where

vod, slaves, ivory and wax could be
bartered for cloth,

ods, guns and other

European goods. These chiefs

came very rich
from this trade. By the 1850s, each of the capitals
‘ofthe four main Cokwe chief contained over

1,000 inhabitants. The Atlantic slave trade also

resulted in trial laws being undermined, since the
purpose of punishment was no longer justice, but
to get slaves, Wars were also fought in order to
acquire captives to enslave and sel them to the
European traders, Asa result, powerful chiefs
became tyrants who displayed human skulls on

their houses in oder to rule their people through,
fear and intimidation

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38. Me can divide the factors that mado Africa an

attractive source of labour into four categories:

© geography - the physical features ofa landscape,
such as rivers, mountains, as wells the climate

© ecology how humans interact with their physical
environment including its animals and plants

© technology - the kinds of tools and machines a

© economics he goods people produce to
consume and 0 trade.

Each ofthese factors affects the other, since

mountain bariers rivers and climate determine

ecology; how humans interact with their

environment shapes technology; and technology
fluences the goods people produce for trade

‘Geographical factors
© Geography meant that Alca was well placed for
cheap trans-shipment of slaves by Europeans to.

the New World
© The wiangular tado - oF coffee, cotton, sugar,
rum and tobacco fom the New World to Europe;

‘manufactured goods from Europe to Africa and

slays from Afca tothe New World - took only a

andthe Anti passage didnot

have winds or current which made the journey
too perilous

© Alia’ rivers had many apids and waterfalls, so
itwas not possible to travel on them for long,
distances, West African therefore never had any
reason to build boat

ven on the coast, the heavy surfand 200-mile

Jong sandbar along the “Save Coast of Dahomey
and Togoland had stymied any development of
advanced boatbuilding technology

(© Only light well-built canoes, used mainly for
fishing were common,

few me

Ecological factors

© Ecology which has to do with the relationship
between living things and thee physical
environment, also made Aficans suitable for
Tabour in the tropical climate,

© Africans were accustomed to heat and resistant
to yellow fever and malaria

© They were experienced farmers, who knew how to
se ploughs and hoes. At the same tie, poor sis

in Aca limited their on agricul

Ms > ET

© he factor o disease ala presented Europeans from
traveling ar bjs Arica” cas, since wt people
ado resistance to Afrean mite

© sth Eurooras could ot imate ad set within
Ac, hey hao depen on tias lr py
them with aves. The rulers therefor had a prot
‘mati whieh made them capture ere sles,

© It farming in Aca ha been more advanced, frm
labore woul have ben more va tana lve,
So there woud have been ls rasen o irs sl
labourer to European slave rade,

© tore te int of machines, ade arming
required large semestated anima, Te eater
‘iris ese us, ch carte ans to
which African mammal ar resistant, were de to
Ewrasan and North Azan esto sch a ms,
hess see and goats. Diese therefore aka a
saco eet it reverted te spree of este,
‘ahead nae ran fomi etnies in
‘Mean ses. Large Mian ail ch at
hinecrs are za were to eet aes

Main diseases prevalent in Aca inthe 15th and

oth centuries,
© Mara is pend by mosquitos and tve
© Yen ee

© Aaketomalsackworm) fan fection of the
causing internal es. »

39. © Disease also affected the demand for African
slaves. Inthe New World, as outlined in
Chapter 1, Amerindians were struck down
by European diseases for which they had no
resistance. After the Amerindians began
dying out, Spanish colonists wrote tothe
newly elevated King Charles askin
black slaves. In 1518, Judge Alons

sent letter to Charles V suggesting that
general licence be given forthe ‘import of
nogros, ideal people forthe work here in
contrast 10 the natives, who are so feeble
that they are only suitable fr light work

(Thomas, 1997: pg 97). Permission was
granted, and the slaves were supplied by
Portuguese traders

TS 007

© tok some time fr aer European to star ang
‘can Se. te coli ours y the Egin
Cro, for example cans wer not he rs oie
flacas for he New Wer. The Ss wren
the Angepnoe ante wre white Sevars, and
by re ls 170 carry mos o thm were Eli
soars run to he New Wor oi of ne
Your men were sometimes agp rom ste
Bah cts uch a Lego and rie an
‘pp ff work on planten People sat
Im nis mar were sl ta have bee tarados,
slang tem wich eis au ha ch and famous
Bardo: was a tain, Tree Inoue worked
‘or lot afew years afer whe er contacte ede
or ther ves inthe tropical imate eo they
seas
© In 1650 a ra of Barcia partes vists Dutch
lanas In Braz and wer very Ire wth he
Barnes fe African saves
(© Te English son became the lames rer of lanes

lo)

1208 The Care economy ar slavery

‘Technological factors

© Technology, however, could be considered the
‘most important single factor in determining why
African were favoured for chatel slavery in the
New World,

© Four years after Vasco da Gama reached East
Africa he returned with a cannon-filed let of
‘hips to take over the port of Kiba, which was the
‘main transit point for Zimbabwe's gold exports

© Between 1471 and 1500, Portuguese traders
‘exported about 17 tons of gold from Africa,

© The Europeans superior weapons would have
allowed easy conquest ofany Aa tbe or tif
diseases did not top them sending an army inland

© The main advantage of European technology
was that the Europeans could manufacture
goods more cheaply than Africans.

© Africans did have a fly developed

ring capability. They wove their own
cloth, and the people in the Sahel region had
started making sted in high-temperature
Furnace 2,000 years before Europeans
discovered the process in the 19th century. Most
Alcan!

uscholds had metal knives, spear,
axes and hoes, and African goldsmiths’ skills
reportedly surpassed the

Europeans.

CE

© By the tine European ect Africa, ere
‘hance made D cloth and ran cnaper produce

© Glas rad came from Veis wre nd conch
ali ro th Canary sla an Bord rom par
‘Alan lr took these end I exchange o aves,

{© The man iter the Europeans raed forthe aves
was clot — ard three quarters of teal of vase
‘eed bound or Arica ws er,

© Mest tis cloth was made in England but nan

© None ems main nde aw ren, fears

© Bras god rom Germany sch a pots and basins,
ete especialy popular among Aan rules and
Wir es and rss bracelets (rom Bavaria were
mae specie obre saves.

»

40. 0

DA you know?
The mala goods manufactured in Europe in 35th and

© tees — woolen tex

© wine
© feet uth abutter and mese
© manufactured tms such as cto rss ed, uns,

© iron ar ron pros
"The advanced technology of Europe meant hat
African saves were worth less to African riers
than European goods, and it also meant that
European goods were less valuable o Europeans
than African slaves. slave bought in Africa could
be sold fora 200% profit in the Americas,
Additional, African slaves were cheaper to use
than English labour onthe sugar estates. The
wealth brought in by the Adanti slave rade was so
great that, on the coast of West Africa, several

Fishing villages on the estuary ofthe Niger almost

attained the status of city-states,

pa _ -

Economie factors

Economies also dictated he need for slaves when the
Thisis

Caribbean sands began growing sugar
Because sugar cane ia erop which requires many
Human labourers, soa cheap and plentful source of
slaves or servants had tobe found sugar planters
wer to make he maximum prof. This was he ms
advantage of using Afcans, since Europeans and
Asians were either not penta or would have been
100 expensive to ship from thie homelands. The
sant started by Charles V allowed the first sugar mil

to bebuiltin Puerto Rico in 1523, and by 1590 there
were 3,000 saves on the island and just 327 whites,

Economic principles state tha supply increases to
rect demand. This was what happened with slaves
from Africa. African rulers did not usual sel people

from their own tbe, save asa severe punishment,
ut the dire bal groups were rivals and fie at
war So, although enemies were often taken as slaves
during tbl wars in Aca, particlary by powerful
tres such asthe Dahomey and Ashanti appears
“hat fier the Europeans started buying shaves there
was an inerease in the numberof wars made by

African ties on one another forthe purpose of
kidnapping under the guise of taking prisoners. This
was not the ease everywhere. The kings of Dahomey
and Ashanti, when asked in the ate 18th century if
they waged wars to get slaves, denied this. In Central
Africa though, the constant raids by the Landa
people on their neighbours, or the Jagga tribe on
theirs, seems to have been exacerbated by the
European demand for ave.

By the time slavery was abolished in the New World
in the 190 century slavery within black Africa had
‘grown by an enormous degree, Between 33% and
50% of the population in the Sudan were slaves, as
‘were 50% of the people in the Sokoto caliphate i
northern Nigeria In Zanzibar the numberof slaves
increased fom 15,000 in 1818 o 100,000 inthe
1860s, Slave employment also increased on
plantations which produced palm il peanuts and
cotton for export.

x —

© Ove scholar Paterson, Ser and Soca Death
Harvard Lies Pres, 1990) wot tht, based
on he latest tra evens o Ue 1. millon
tan ret tothe Ne Wor before ne en
apes af genie fre, le la les than
53% wer nas

© Paterson ae notes hat of he estimate 7.4 lon
nor been 17010 110, te Op gp

41. «
vere approval ever at, rer 70%
Sere ap an under 20% wre he time o

© Inthe 19% century a tle vr 60% slaves
Bros to he Men Wri were iras, le
ite under 30% were gene praners of war
(Paterson, 98120)

© note pee of ene that heave rade
Inrena len in Ara tht saves had ot ess
re he Europeans came The average pri per
lavan 1602 was ED Bases 270) and 1732 fae
29 a between 1773 a 1775 wert pt 25
‘Feld wares sine 1603 (Maddon 9 22)

Trans-Atlantic trade in
enslaved Africans

When Europeans arrived in Africa, Aficans were
growingjust five sets of crops. These included
harley and wheat in Northern Africa, which had a
more temperate climate and mor

than other parts of Africa. Sorghum and pearl
rillt were cultivated in the Sahel zone, coffee
and ten Ethiopia, bananas and Asian yama in
East Africa and African yams and kola nuts in
West Africa.

No one person ove land, Instead tribes and
in groups had traditional rights to farm or graze
the areas they sele in Unlike in Europe and Asia,
chiefs and rulers did not collect taxes or charge
rents fr land use. Instead, slaves were the only ral
form of private property and they were usualy
‘obtained by raids or wars on her tribes. This
meant that there was a supply of lave ready to sll,
when the Europeans first came o Africa,

2.6 The Cartbean economy an lve

europe ea

Between 1519 and dhe late 1860s, 114012
people were taken fiom the continent tobe sold to
European slave traders, The slave trade rom Afica to
the Arab lands, which had started five centuries
lier accounted fr 14 milion more.

> ae

“These are the approvinte numbers e ese African
the were transporte rm West Afi othe Americas

‘The Portuguese slave traders, as you have read,
‘came fist. French ships started raiding off the
African coast in the 1580s, but the frst record ofa
French slave ship is of LEspérance, which in
1594 took slaves from Gabon to Brazil, The
Dutch arived last in 1599, but they soon had 20
ships sailing every yea to Africa to obtain slaves.
Of the Africans they obtained, 80% went to Brazil

and the Caribbean, while the rest were sent to
Spanish North America and South America. By
1580, slaves made up 50% ofall people being
transported tothe New World; by 1700, they
made up 75% and by 1820 the figure was 90%.

The slave trade was well organized, The slave
traders often relied on African middle men such
as canoe owners to transport the slaves from the
coast to the ships.

a

42. a A

| oes =
om +
en

Years Number per sear
Keen 3000
21816530 (1000
1831-50 51000
1851-65 10500

The European slave traders got most of their
slaves by buying them from African rules or
merchants. Only a few were obtained by

kidnapping. Apart from this, there were mat
ways a person in Arica became a slaves as a
prisoner of war; asa punishment for some crime
or from poverty, when a person was in deb, or
‘when poor parents sold their children. People

a

were even enslaved just because they were

considered unusual - such individuals included

‘wing he mothers of twins, deformed children
nd girls who had early me

Iris not certain, however, which ofthe methods of
‘obtaining slaves was most prevalent In 1721, the

43. Royal African Company (RAC) held an inguiry on
the matter, ordering its agents in Africa to ind out
whether the slaves they were buyinghad been
enslaved in any other manner than being taken
prisoners in wartime’, This was an issue of concern
to Europeans, since enslaving war prisoners was
considered more morally aceptable than enslaving

people who had been kidnapped specifically 0 be
sol into slavery. However, the RAC also wanted to
remain on good terms with the African rulers and
buying their Kidnapped people might have
jeopardized that relationship, The RAC inquiy did
‘not result in any conclusive evidence, though. Ata
similar inquiry held in Britain in 1789, one slave
captain said

How such a numberof slaves are procured is
er filly acquainted with, The best information

is hat great numbers are prisoners taken in
war... many ae sold for wvitchera and other
eal orimputed rimes and are purchased

Such testimonies were just opinion though, asthe
captain noted. However in the
analysis of Africans brought to Sierra Leone, which

0s,a statistical

ves then a colony of reed slaves, as carted out to
determine how they had become enslaved, These
figures showed that 349% were, infact, war prisoners,
but 30% had been kidnapped by other Africans and
sold tothe Europeans, Another 11% had become
slaves afer being found guy ofa crime
crime being adulter

themain

he rest had been sold to pay
¿ibas or by relatives. Many ofthese slaves were
obtained at firs, which had been in existence long
Before the arrival of de European. nte lat 18th
century; in Bambarena in Senegambia, the lca rar
Had set upan entre village where captives were held
‘unt they could be sold. In what is now Nigeria,

there was an island market atthe conflcnee ofthe
Niger and Benue rivers, where 11,000 slaves were
sold every year some forthe Atlantic slave trade
others for he Arab trade.

2.62 The Cartbean economy and slavery

The trip to the slave forts

From the interior of Africa the slaves walked
hundreds of mils tothe coast. They were usually
in groups ofa hundred, two or tree of them bound
to one another with irons from the left log of one
person attached tothe right leg ofanoiher. Another
method was tote 30 oF 40 together with a rope,
perhaps linking four people together atthe neck
Apart from being under guard, the captives were
sometimes forced to cary goods, suchas water or
ivory or hides. They would be made to walk fom
dave tl early afternoon, when the day became
hottest, usualy covering about 20 miles. The

Jong journey often took its toll on the captives

many died from malnutrition, exhaustion, exposure
to the heat or dysentery

a

44. ‘One French slave ship captain wrote spoke African languages could hide and then

inform the lve waders about escape plots.

was not until dhe 17ch century thatthe Dutch,
British and French sated competing wth the
Portuguese in the slave trade

There are slave forts tha sill stand on the coast of
modern-day Ghana, where slaves were brought to
be checked by physicians before boarding the
siting ship. The first fort was ui by the
Portuguese in 1482 although it was fis used
mainly asa base to attack the Ashanti gold mines. In
the for main building, the corridor in which the
‘chained slaves walked othe hall was set onthe
“outside wall of the building and was so narrow that,
people could only walk singles. This
discouraged escape atempts. The holding cell
Delow the fort, where the slaves were imprisoned.

until it was time to beard, had a hole concealed in tise ol ar
the roof just outside the door, whereaspywho states “

45. As with the Portuguese and the Spanish, dhe English
Grown oversaw the slave trade. Athough English
ships had been tradingin Africa sine the 1

they only brought back goods such as gold
Guinea pepper at fr. I was Captain John Hawkins
who in 1562 started the English slave trade
Hawkins her Willa, was the fst Englishman

“The Caribbean enemy aná lave

to sl into the dangerous waters ofthe Bight of Benin
con the westem Africa coast in 1383 and his son
restmably leaned from him about currents,
geography and markets in Africa

Queen Ezabeth, who approved Hawkins
‘expedition, told him noto ake saves who id not
freely consent to lave their homeland snc, she wrote,
this would be detestable and cal down the vengeance
of Heaven upon the undertakers (Thomas, 1997:

pg 156), Hawks aile with dee ships and inthe
river Sierra Leone he ciel 900 blacks rom sx
Portuguese boats which were transporting them to dhe
Cape Verde Islands. His imestos reportedly made a
good profit and on his second voyage, in 1564, Queen
Elizabeth herself seta ship with him, named the Jesus
of Labeck. Liheck, located onthe Bai in Germany
as the world’s leading port atthe ime, On this

‘voyage Hawkins obtained 400 slaves rough pracy
and barter and sold hem at 60% profi the and of
Margarita off the Venezuelan coast and in Caraga.
When Hawkins recived a knighthood in tr years,
his rest was the image ofan Alcan woman.

UR

a

46. %

aka

Imai tat ou were capture in Arc ard taken on

By the 17th century, the English Crown was

-mpting to organize the slave trade so it could get
as much revenue rom tas possible, The main
‘company which handled this business a fst was
the Royal African Company (RAC). The King,
Charles Il, gave this company the exclusive right for
one thousand years to trade in African slaves.

doin stock companies

© The tem company vas rat ved about grou el
actors who pere In orden tet

© The fst joint-stock company whieh was a comme
veure ike modern rs as cesado 28881 as
{ales the Muay Company.

© 1n1579,the East Company trae in the Bal

© The Leran Company fomes in 258, traes in
tn eastern Mestranea which was inked to the
alibi route of A

inisee,

© Te most peru company of al was he East Inda
Compay sl I 1600, vie deal with ne Ian
conte and the Sie Ian

nea Company fr West Aen

Despite this optimism, and despite having eminent
investors such as the philosopher John Locke, the
RAC on; operate from 167210 1698, In those

26 years, however, he company shipped 750,000
slaves almost 29,000 human being per year One in
six did not survive the trp, and the death

higher among white crew members. In fc, the RAC's
record show that 60% ofits personne dedi heist,
year and 80% bythe second year, with only one in 10
beng discharge alive (Bernstein, 2008: 95273).

Although slaves were the main cargo ofthe middle
passage, the shorter hauls alo yielded significant
profits: indigo was sent rom Jamaica to
Philadelphia, com to London, wool fom London
to Le Havre and French silks to Africa. So trading
in human beings was not the only option open to
merchants = it was just dhe most profitable.

Inthe early 17th century, Dutch ships became
essential for trade in the Caribbean, The Dutch
Had set up slave forts in West Africa and by the
mid-1ıh century they were the main suppliers
enslaved Africans to the Caribbean plantations
The Dutch economy was based on marine trade
and the Dutch had established trading posts in
St Marin, St Croix and Curagao. In 1621 the
Dutch West India Company was formed to trade
direct with non-Duteh colonies inthe region
Without Dutch trader, the British, French and
Spanish colonists would have found Caribbean life
farharder These traders supplied the stlers and
planters with goods and capital and also bought
sugar in the colonies for transport to Europe.

However, the British and French governments soon
became concerned over his Dutch dominance
‘which, in their view; was puting wealth from their
colonies into Dutch hands, Asa result, they passed
laws which were meant to ensure that goods were
traded exclusively between the colonies and the
mother country’ - that is, British colonies would
trade only with Briain and French colonies only
with France, and vice-versa. This system was called

In Britain, the mercantil system was started in the
1650s although i was not actually called this until
Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics,
coined the term in his 1776 book The Wealth of
Nations) Navigation Laws were passed in 1650 and
1651, forbidding non-English ships from trading
with British colonies, Only British ships, sailing
froma por in England, were allowed to carry

colonial goods. These laws set ofa war between
olland and England in 1652. Another Navigation
‘Act was passed in 1660, which listed the colonial
¡products that could be shipped directly only to
England, Ireland or another English colony. These

47. included sugar (anti 1789) indigo and tobacco,
and in the 18th century ice and molasses were
added to thelist

nat problems di Caribbean planters face in
Shipping sugar to Europe?

This policy actually harmed the British economy
because it forced up freight prices, hence making
English manufactured goods less competitive. The
tightening of the laws in 1764 also sparked off the
American Revolution. The Navigation Laws were
repealed in 1849 and 1854.

In France, similar laws were passed in 1661, mainly
Because the French government wanted to break
Dutch dominance over French colones in the
Caribbean. In Guadeloupe and M

nique, for
example, 90% of merchant vessels supplying the
islands were Dutch. A law, known as Exclus?
(clusivity) was passed banning foreigners fom
‘owning property in the French colonies. This was
aimed specially tthe Dutch, who had extensive
investment in sugar mills and warehouses inthe
French-ovmed islands. A French West India
company was formed, which had exclusive trading.
rights with all French colonies in the Caribbean. As
a result, French shipping expanded from involving
four ships in 1652 o just over 200 ships in 1683.

However the policy did not prevent the Dutch from

continuing to trade with French colonies,

Them

In the 17th century, with good weather, he wip for

¡dle passage

Portuguese slavrs from Angola to Babia, in Brazil
took around 35 days. By the IS century, with

2.62 The Calor sony and slavery

large vessels and better sis, he journey across the
South Atlantic usually took no more than a month
Forthe French and British, the middle passage
from West Aic tothe Caribbean took between

{60 and 70 days

Slave ships usally carried between 300 and

400 captives per trip. Overerowding was common.
While the men were manacled tothe slave deck, the
‘women and children huddled together in a back abin
and slept on top of one another, or were separated

from dhe men by a partition at the main mas.

“The slave deck was located between the hold and
the main deck, Some ships even had a second tier
to hold more slaves. The captives were placed in

a space five feet thre inches high and four feet
four inches wide. They were arranged in a spoon
fashion, so it was impossible for them to turn or
‘otherwise change position (called “tight packing).
Written accounts of conditions aboard these ships
note a heat so intense that many ofthe captives
fainted, and a stink so high that it caused nausea

and vomiting. Many deaths resulted from

48. ‘The conditions of his journey were so harsh that
itis amazing that any ofthe captives survived at al
An officer from the slave ship Alexander, testifying
Before the British Parliament, said ofthe ship’

captan:
‘When employed in towing the slaves, he
made the most ofthe room and wedged them
in. They had not so much room asa man in
his con, either in length or in breadth, I
‘was impossible for them to tum or hf. he

drendfül and disgusting as hat ofthe slaves
sien il ofthe flax in the Alexander the
deck was covered with blood and mucus, and

When sil in sight of Africa, male slaves were
kept chained in pairs, right ankle to he left ankle
ofthe next man. One 17th century report says that
the Aficans would dhrow themselves into the sea
‘or hit their heads against the ship or refuse o eat
They were only allowed on the upper deck afer
ight days, when no land was insight. At this

point the captives were organized in groups to
clean the ship and made to sing while doing so.
Heated vinegar in pails was used to crab decks
with brooms, which was then washed down
with cold vinegar

The food varied according tothe nationality of
the ship. The Portugues fed th captives cassava,
the English and Dutch gave them com, while the
French provided oats, Rice, mit, kidney beans,
plantains, yams, coconuts, es, potatoes and
‘oranges were usually stocked. The crew ate the

same food asthe captives. The ration per day was:
pounds of yam, 10 ounces of biscuit, 3H ounces
of beans, 2 ounces of flour and a portion of salted

beef. The captives were also given a mouthwash of
vinegar o ime juice to avoid scurvy

On French boats stew of oats was cooked daily
ina large copper, with dried turtle meat or dried
vegetables added, On English ships beans were
boiled with lard or peas and ground Indian com

was boiled until thick, with salt, pepper and palm
oil added. The food was given out to 10 slaves ata
time, each portion ina small tab, with cach slave
given a wooden spoon to feed themselves, Meals
were eaten on the main deck and forecaste by the

male captives. The women remained on the
uarterdeck, while the children were put onthe
poop. Meals were served twice a day, at 10 am

‘The amount of fod was often less than what was
needed by the already malnourished African. They
were also provided with two to three pints of water a
day. This would have been enough for normal

consumption, but the eapives sweated excessively
inthe heat and many of them also got dysentery
which caused dehydration. One third o deaths
were, directly and indirectly, caused by diarrhoea
Violence also accounted for some deaths since here
‘was about one insurrection forever eight to 10

journeys. The morality ates on board slave ships

‘was between 3% and 30% and the usual ratio was
probably around nine out of every hundred people
inthe 18th century (Thomas, 1997: pg 419).

Arrival in the Caribbean
When the enslaved Africans arrived in the Caribbean
colon, hey were comparatively wel treated ~ at east
fora few das. They were fed and allowed to rela,
all for the purpose of ensuring hat hey were in the
Best condition to be sold in the slave market In Se
Domingue they were often given liquor to make
them cheerfl. In Martinique, hey would bathe in
the sea and rub their bodies with pal ol. In
Jamaica, the sick slaves were bathed in water with
‘supposedly curative herbs (what scaled bush
at) given two meals day and rum to drink,

‘The captured Aficans were sold ether by
‘scramble’ or by auction. In a seramble,a signal
‘would be given, such as drum beatand the buyers
‘would rush among the saves, choosing the ones
they wanted and having them dragged avay at once

49. ‘This caused much anguish among the slaves, who payinga quarter ofthe price in cash or goods
mould be separated rom tei ends and family. with he ret toe paid off within a yar to
age: Those slaves who were nt sol ether because of

18 monts

and the buyers bidding for one or several ata
nach usd dll pittance lessor defomiti or some ober
though. Instead, be would buy o crei perla. “UP etn the por oben de

ses fr 3 |
#

50. 50

The plantation economy - sugar

In 1623, the British claimed the small Caribbean
island of St Christopher (now St Kits). This was the
English Crown's first West Indian proper In 1
the Ea of Cale won a patent o Barbados from the
Crown and distributed the land to 764 seers, These
rants ange from 30 to 1,000 acres, The first
immigrant farmer planted food for dhemselves aswell
as cash cops such as tobacco and cotton. Each ofthe
nw landholders go paid labourers and indentured
servant from England, who in return for cr service
were promised small plots sally 10 acres, when
their contract ended. With an average esa size of
200 ares, however, land ran out by the 1630s, o new
immigrants either had ogo to other islands, stay in
Barbados or return peniless to England. In 1640,
However, colonists once again became prosperous
when the farmers started culating sugar cane, which
Had been brought from Suriname

The English planters were helped by Dutch
‘entrepreneurs who wanted to trade in sugar even
though their government had passed lw tating
that only the Dutch West India Company (WIC)
could do so. Additionally between 1645 and 1054,
Portuguese settlers evicted dhe WIG fom Brazil
Jewish growers, unwiling to live under
rulers since they had been oppressed by the
Catholic Church in the past came with their
technical expertise in sugar cultivation to the
Caribbean. Their ejection from Brazil also reduced
the amount of sugar in Europe, so Barbados had a
Waiting market for its new crop. Development of
the sugar industry in Barbados was rapid, and, by
1660, Barbados had more sees than Virginia or
Massachusetts in the USA. In ic, the population
density in Barbados was 400 inhabitants per

hole

square mil, which was four times the population
density of England. Between 1603 and 17:
consumption of sugar in England rose by 20 times,
Neary all dis sugar was supplied by plantations in
the Americas. As more people in Europe began
using sugar the price went doven but demand was
so great that profit remained high. Sugar was ths
the ideal produet in having high demand and an
affordable price, Table 2.3 gives calculations of

what sugar cost in modern US dollars and shows
how the price went down over two centuries,

a

The features fhe plantation sony were
© largest culation
© mercer production af one ro)

© tratas eset oriente tn reduce was meant
for European markets

© trat twa labour tense.

Period USS per

o GR D

1400-1450 sie

er er
se

1500-1550

hat Impact nis rae na

Barbados was soon the largest sugar producer in
the Caribbean, supplying two thirds of England’
consumption. English farmers owned thei own

land or paid rent, hired their own abou and kept

ibi profs This gave them more incentive to
produce than their lager competitors in Brazil
the Greater Antiles, where oversers and managers

nd

he estates or in which small farmers sent their
‘ane othe andowner’s ill and got only a faction
ofthe sugar to sell.

By the 1610s, horever, many ofthe first seers in
Barbados had made enough money tortie as
wealthy aristocrats to England, ofen sling their
plantations othe younger sons of England:
owning aristocracy who albough poor inc they had

51. lle orn inheritance, could obtain credit because of
their family connections. By 1680, Barbados was no
longer profitable duc to fling sugar prices, sols
exhausted by over-clration, and because it topical

are organ in a specie mane plane to

fs oor comprised nen Ing unter, elaborately

“lr ding siting an barge rom Mos the
‘est ous hd lr veranda a on oe sie of he
ose, Te betr oor vas fen ved a ater sty,

forests ha been cleared to make space forthe sugar
plantations. Many ofthe planters went 0 North
America, wher they started new plantations anda
new save society (ersten, 2008: py, 268).

Clear vow he planation nae reas for vamp

rune ar tn ue extract Tere were tre peso
ral inthe Caribbean,

© Water mis were ound most in Cab, Brin
(Guiana Jamaica and te Whaward Islan. These
wer the mos sel

D Win wer und mast In Barbados and the
prince of wind ters thy had tobe ung

a

53. Categories of ensaved Arcas
2 Skid slaves iste for ramps masons,

2 Non-raeil nes or hause ses compre

3 Prada saves or eld saves — is
© The fist or grat gang incu

Sugar à relatively simple crop to grow: Once the
sols frie and irigated planting cane is just a
mater of digging shallow holes with hoes to put the
stalks in, In about 15 months, the canes would be

ready for harvesting and processing, This was the
Icaviest par ofthe work. Once ct, the canes were
cari tothe mil o where the juice was ground out
of them. The sugarcane juice was then boiled,
skinmed and cooled. This process separated the
brown crystals of sugar fom the thick gooey
mohsses. This sugar was

hen exported to Europe
10 be refined; though, in time, some planters setup
their own ening operations. The crushed talks
were used as fuel A yea late, second harvest

2 62 The Caribbean economy and inver

packed ito tati enclose spaces. Forth mos

slaves proce er om

© The scan gang ie sum
sng but as me pf elder aie

D The ths gang vas also efe ste homes

could be reaped from the stumps ofthe old canes,
This yielded less sugar, but the process could be
repeated thee or four times before the field was

exhausted (Thomas, 1997: pg 135-6).

However, despite its simplicity o cultivate, sugar.
alo a back-breakng crop to harvest and process. e
wasnt grown in British North America, which used
slave labour mainly for tobacco and cotton. Unlike
(hose crops, sugar meant an early death forthe
enslaved Aficans, In the grinding season, the
factories ran around the clock, because cane juice
poes sour unless itis erushed and boiled within

24 hours of being cut. The fl slaves harvested

53

54. ‘The mancfactore of sugar

the cane which immediatly went into the mill,
followed by the boiler rooms, which were indeed
boiling hot. Asa result, overwork, malnutrition and
disease killed so many slaves that new ones had to
be brought in constant just to keep the workforce
atthe same numbers,

A witess before the British House of Commons in
1790, which held an inquiry into the conditions of
slaves in the Wes Indies, testified:

AI Lever understood was that purchasing
slaves was much the cheapest method of
keeping up their numbers; for dhe mother of

"ore slave was taken fom the field labour for
thee years, which labour was of more value
than the cost ofa prime slae or new Negro?

Rum

Apart from sugar itself, rum was the most important
product made from sugar cane, and Caribbean rum
bra

bra

sare still among the best known liquor
sin the world today

Raum isa dise liquor which includes both the
lightbodied rums, which were made mainly in
Cuba and Puerto Rico, and heavier rums made in
Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad. Rum was invented
inthe Caribbean around the middle of the

17th century. The liquors produced was called

55. 4illevil or umbullion but by 1667 was simply
refered to as ‘rum’ was a key product of the
middle passage: Afican slaves were traded for
‘molasses, then dhe molasses was made ino rum

New England and then the ram was traded to Africa
formore slaves, British sailors received regular

rations ofrum from the 18th century until 1970.

Most ums are made from molasses. Some countries
import molasses fr use in num production. All
liquors are made by fermentation. The sugar
required for fermentation is already present in the
molasses, and rum retains more of the original
ravemateril taste than most other liquors. The
flavour of specific rum is determined by the ype of
yeast employed for Fermentation, the distillation
method, ageing conditions and blending

The first ums were heavy, dark and fall bodied and
hada strong molasses flavour. These rums are sil
produced in Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana. Such
rams are usually made from molasses enriched with
the skimmings, or dunder, remaining in he boilers
used for sugar production, This liquid atracts yeast
spores from the ir and ferment naturally. The rum,
is dislled wie in pot sil, producing a distillate

‘of clear colour that becomes golden hue a the
diste absorbs substances from the oak ofthe
‘wooden puncheons used for storage during the
ageing period. Caramel added after ageing deepens
the colour. The Jamaican runs are always blended
and are aged f

hing sold. They ate usualy marketed with an
alcohol content of 43-49% by volume, New
England rum, which has been made in the USA

From Caribbean molasses since the 17th century
has strong flavour and high alcohol content

The production of dry lght-boded rums began in
the late 19th century. This type ofrum, produced
malin Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, uses
cultured yeast in fermentation, and distillation is
done in modem stil. The rums are usually
blended and are aged from one to four years. These
‘white rum are pale in colour and mil in favour,
while gold runs’ have a more amer colour and a
more pronounced flavour, because ofthe longer
ageing process and the addition of caramel

20 me Ca

Apart from its use in alcoholic drinks, rum is
Frequently used asa flavouring in desert sauces
and other dishes. Is also used to flavour tobacco.

2 —

© Inthe French sland o St Dominga now Halt, er
«sample save population in 1763 was 206,539,
‘Between 1768 and 2774, re 102478 slaves
were sgh othe san. That total st ver
300,00 pop, but in 1776, because ofthe death
‘atthe Slave popltien vas around 290,00

© Barbados had an even higher deat ate o saves
in 1764, tare wer et under 72,000 slaves n the
land. ver the net 19 years, more than 40,000
shies ware norte Yet n 1763 when a natural
penclton soul have been ter 100,000 pe,
Barbas had a mere 62,000 slaves

© 8 ae ws however e mai single cause of death
‘or rives tian flawed by un sas, ans
nahi ers tert nd taie isses aná
ener

(ans bora the Caribbean had a beter let han
natn ears We ou hs because the ore were
tale than the late ati beter ration for
rather and cl. The saves were fd abo a a.
urd fied bel safely an a ptf com
fal ic. The save supplemented tis lt with
revisions ara vegrols hy re tensas (am,
{ar re plantas ano bara).

© Nantes, esas Alan were often no fos
tough forthe hard aber ey nd 1 Tey any
Bt 20 rams of a ro her ei, were
erage requirements 80-125 grams.

© realy tne most aly eric was ario the
hares wen hey were lle oink sgarcare
We rom te coper Tis alce was ich in Fon and 8
‘amie whieh he friars na gen al et fr
‘heres ofthe yer (ile ad Kine, 19809920.

The non-sugar environment
We have established tha sur became the major
West Indian crop fer others had been tied fr.
Togwood, tobacco, coton, cocoa and coffee.

55

56. Tobacco
“Tobacco and coton were the frst crops which were
grown ona commercial scale in the islands. The

opcans frst encountered tobacco when they met
the Aztecs and Incas, and pipe smoking soon became
popular in Europe. Tobacco didnot require much
land and could be grown bythe landowner and his
family, with usta few additonal labourers needed.

However, when tobacco became a plantation crop in
the US colonies, the competion undermined the
industry in the West Indie,

Cotton was already one ofthe most valuable
imports in Europe. Most ofthe cloth came from
India. Cotton cloth was a expensive as silk, so
growing cotton inthe West Indies made financial
sense, even though picking the bolls and weaving.
the threads on à loom was long, exacting and
arduous work, However, even before cotton
became cheaper after the invention of the spinning
jenny and other machines during the Industrial
Revolution, sugar cane was the more valuable crop

Timber
‘Timber was another major resource that sparked
European interest inthe New World. Between

750 and 1850, he population had doubled, by
which ime much ofthe continent' forests had been
ut oven. France, for example, os 70% fit forest
by 1700 and Denmark lost about 80% between
1500 and 1800. Most ofthis wood was usd for
heating, building constriction and for making ships
The discovery and use of cal helped meet heating
needs, but wood was still needed for ship building
in particular, especialy ina seagoing nation such as
England British colonists thus favoured hcavly
forested colonies which had high-quality mbr,
and by the time ofthe American Revolution in 1776,
‘one of every thre British merchant ships was bile
in North Ameria Beatie, 2009: pg 88-9).

The economic aw o diminishing returns soon set
in though - ats, every new ship had les vale
thant would have previously because there were
already enough ships for trade and war This made
‘supplying imber les profitable. On the other hand,

there were more wealthy people in Britain and other
European countries, so there was a higher demand
for finshed goods, such as furniture Mahogany and
other woods used for making furniture, doors and
‘raft items thus became more valuable

Logwood was the frst major timber export from the
Caribbean and was produced mainly in Belize It
was very valuable fr its dye, which was used by
‘wool manufacturer. Spanish ships carrying
Logwood were often atacked by British pirates, who
stole the cargo and resold i, However, the
buccaneers soon decided that cutting thelogwood
trees themselves was an eater and safe way to tum
profit. These new producers caused à luton the
market (meaning that here was more logwood to be
sold than there were buyers fr). This resulted in
prices falling in the 1760s and so mahogany
replaced logwood as Belize’ main wood export.

Since mahogany wood was harder to produce than
loggrood, the economy of Belize (renamed the
British Honduras after Britain colonized itin 1798)
changed drastically. Logwood was a small tree
which required onl a few men to cut it Mahogany
which was a thik wee, needed both machinery and
more men to make production economical
Inevitably, this meant an increase in enslaved
Afficans. Slavery had started in Belize in 1724, but
there were relatively few enslaved African unt the
after which the numberof Arca
‘expanded to more than three quarters ofthe entire
population of about 5,000 people. Mahogany

production ereated new jobs, for example as
huntsmen, axe men and catlemen, and many of
these jobs were done by skilled slaves. The
huntsmen went nto the forest to find mahogany
trees the axe men did the chopping and trimming
ofthe res, and the cattlemen took care ofthe

animals used o transport the logs. These enslaved
men, their masters and overseers had to cover long
distances to find the tees, which did not grow in
‘lumps ike dhe logwood but were located singly
and often fr apart, The difference inthe
relationship between slave and master here should
be pointed ut. Logging was a seasonal activi so
dhe journeys took place only for part of the yea.

57. Coffee

Coffee was valuable crop in many ofthe islands
‘ml sugar cane became dominant. ira came to
the Caribbean in 1714, when a Dutch plant was
brought bythe French from Paris, Coffee was grown
in Tnidad, the Windward Islands, Dominica,
Martinique, Cuba, Jamaica and Hait It continued
to be extensively grown in these ast wo islands even
after sugar cane took over most ofthe fertile lands
and it never completly vanished Rom most of the

‘other islands, Hat was the leading cof produce,
but with revolution in 1791 most of the island's
2,500 coffe plantations were damaged and there
vere fower workers, so production declined to
almost zero, This actualy led to increased
production in other islands, such as Cuba and
Jamaica, sine coffe producers left Hat for these
temores. Since coffee was grown on higher and, e
vas possible for coffee and sugar cane to coxis
Planters only abandoned coffe because production
of sugar cane was so much more profitable

Cocoa
As mentioned in Chapter 1, cocoa originated with
the Maya. The Aztec recipe for xocoall chocolate
drink) was brought to Europe by the Spanish
‘conqueror Henan Cortés in 1528, afte his 1519
‘expedition to the Aztec empire. However the
Spanish nobles did not ike he drink uni
eventually they started adding sugar tit. Cocoa
consumption then increased in he courts of Spain,

hence leading to the creation of cocoa plantations in
Spanish Caribbean islands such asthe Dominican
Republic, Hat and Trinidad, These ventures were
at frst unsuccessful, and it was the Spanish Capucin
friars in Ecuador who supplied Spain with cocoa
from 1635. nthe late 17th century, France
introduced the cacao bean tits Caribbean.
territories, starting in 1660 in St Lucia and
Martinique. Cocoa then came to he Dominica
Republic (1665), Brazil (1677), the Guianas (1688)
and Grenada (1714). The Dutch had began planting
cocos even cali in 1620 in Curaguo and the
Brish were growing tin Jamaica by 1670. The

2.2 The Cartbean sony end lve

‘most succesful cocoa plantations were in Trinidad,
which began growing cocoa tres in the mid.

18th century ara ete variety of bean called
forastero, replaced the criollo type, which had been
‘wiped out either by disease ora hurricane in 1727

Cocoa production on that island collapse in the
‘arly 20th century ist because ofa drop in prices
after the First World War and then because of
witches’ broom disease in 1928. The industry
never recovered

During the 18th century, Europe got mos ofits
cocos supplies from Spanish colonies in South
Ameria, mainly Venezuela. In the early 19 century,
wars between these colonies and Spain reduced the
supply of cocoa, which resulted in increase prices
Remember high demand and limited supply abrays
makes goods more expensive This eto increased.
production in dhe Caribbean, particularly in

Trinidad, Aer 1870, when chocolate confectionary

was ivented and chocolate drinks became very
popular in the USA, the demand for cocoa os,

Cotton
Cotton travelled between the Old World andthe
New World long before humans. Scientist have
recently analysed cotton’s DNA and found thatthe

coton plan has four complete sets of chromosomes,
‘unlike most plants and animals, which have just two.
Many varieties of cotton have one pair of

‘chromosomes from the Asian continent
from the Americas. Using molecular clock
scientists have calculated that this hybridization
between Old World and New World strains of

coton happened about 10 milion year ago. For the
past ew milion year, diferent species of cotton
have grown in widely separated places, such as
«astern and southern Africa, Egypt, nia, Peru
Australia and Arabia. The cottonseed was able to
spread itself so widely because it can survive in salt

water for several years and tan float.

5

58. Cotton might be described as the most importa
plant ever domesticated by human beings, because it
was the production of cotton lh whieh drove the
dustrial Revolution in England, and the Industrial
Resolution marked the beginning of the modern
world. It wasalso this demand which led to the
planing of cotton in the Caribbean. In 1765, cotton
factories in England made half milion pounds of
doth every year. By 1775, this production figure
ose 10 two million pounds of eoth year and by
1784 was 14 million pounds. Coton was grown in
Barbados, Hai the Leeward Ilands, St Li, St
Vincent, Grenada, British Guiana, the Bahamas,
Trinidad and Martinique. However, despite the high
demand for coton in England, most planters sl
preferred to plant the more profitable sugarcane
Only in Hai and Trinidad was cotton asi
crop. The forme island had 800 coton plantation
French Revolution began in 1789, and in
ida in 1788 cotton accounted for 70% ofthe

‘exports from just over 100 cotton plantations, Save
labour made coton production profitable, although
the Caribbean planters could not compete with the
S planters, from whom Britain got most ofits
cotton for weaving into cloth Disease also wiped
‘out the cotton industry inthe Caribbean, with
‘oll weevil red bug and chenille stacking pli
the late 18th century: By the 19th century, coton
was hardly produced on any island,

Draw a sath map of the Americas
On his map nate the location of vers economic
acts in eae etry (alte y sae labour

The plantation society

New slaves were usually handed over to trusted
older slave tobe instructed in how to behave on the
plantation. Discipline was enforced with whip and
gun by the overseers, who were usally white but
could also be mixed-race (thas, they had one

(a.

© om area inthe New Wor he st ig a ney
testes Arica et a eo ne ae

© chaning ei pp name wat an et tnd
to remove thi former identity at et tem ro
Tas ree le epee e pari to
oul ih tm a was

© stoves were encase! names sch as Probe or
{yrs ont icknames such as Cate Vil
er Stnomon.

© In avale, Arica names er used e dope as
non names (Paterson, 19909 5)

black and one white parent). As slave generations
passed, colour was the main signifier of satus on

the planation and in the wider society. Those with
Higher skin and straight hai had higher status.

“The population ofthe Caribbean islands was
ivided into three main groups: a the top were he
hits, inthe middle were the mixed-race people
id freed Aficans, and at the bottom were the
enslaved Africans. However, there were also status

visions within each ofthese groups. Among the
whites, for example statue was determined largely
by occupation. First were the large planters,
attorneys and managers of large estates, Then there
were merchants and professional, such as doctors
and lawyers followed by overseers bookkeepers,
skilled crafismen and shopkeepers. Loweston this
tier were poor whites and missionaries

Status among non-whites was determined by a
‘combination of complexion, lega status and
‘occupation. At the op ofthis sector were the free
mixed-race people and freed African who owned
property: The next level was filled by farmers, then

craftsmen, followed by paid labourers. Among the

59. slaves, the highest ofthe low were the artisans, then
the domestic slaves, The field slaves had no status
atall save perhaps personal status within the group
that would have been determined by purely
personal trat: charisma, physical appearance and
intelligence. No matter what personal auributes any

individual had though, was the society which
determined his or her status since status is
essentially a matter of power.

Tus only white could hold politcal office inthe
legislative assembly and the councils. Since they
Had superior weaponry and an organized militia,
whites could pass and enforee laws o control the
free mixed-race and African, whether economically
by limiting ownership of property or inheritance or
by importing

igher taxes, or socially by harsher
ns Striking a white person, for
example, could be punished by imprisonment,

whipping or even by chopping o arms and legs.
Free mixed-race people and Africans were lso
Banned fom holding any political office and could
not even participate in elections tothe assemblies or
councils. Where they were allowed to any
supervised by white officers. When missionaries a

included, whites also controlled the church and its
Financial and social resources,

The enslaved Africans had no real rights, While al
the European Crowns had passed codes which
were supposed o regulate the weatment of slaves,
enforcement was rae or non-existent. The planter
had dhe power of life and death, and ll
‘punishments in between, over his slaves (see
Chapter 3)

The typical day ofthe fed slaves was filled with
unremiting toi. They planted and reaped al day in
blazing sun or pelüng rin, while he few house
slaves had lighter work washing, cooking and
sweeping in the masters great house

made carts

The artisans
vl barrels or constructed and repaired
Buildings. Ina sense, his last group was dhe most

2.6 The Caribbean economy and lve

privilege - or the least underprvileged in that a
skilled artisan was often in demand among diferent
estates (ith the master sometimes hiring out his
labour and les likey to punish him since an
willig skilled slave was harder to coeroe into
doing good work). He also had marketable skills
when slavery was abolished, unlike most ofthe
domestic and eld slaves

This system natural shaped the personal
relationships ofthe population, enslaved and fee,
black and white. It would probably bea false
picture tose the daly life in the islands as one
‘where white masters constantly threatened and
‘whipped sullen or hopeless blacks. Instead, it was
monty a fanetional socie with goods being
produced and shipped to seaside ports, people
erating with conversation and banter and the
wealhy enjoying their luxuries. Life in the colonies,

other words, was not o diffrent from the

similarly harsh fein other parts ofthe world in
thaten.

As systems change, so do peoples relationships.
Where the plantation economy was dominant,
demand for slaves was hgh and males were in the
majority among both masters and slaves, so slave
unions and households tended tobe very unstable.
However, when external supplies curtailed or cut
of as happened when the slave trade was banned
by England in 1807, it became profitable for
tastes to have ther slaves reproduce, and mariage
and strong miles were encourage inthe British
and French Caribbean in the late 18th and early
19th centres,

Even the slave system evolved, as shown by the ict
that towards the end ofthe 18th century in Jamaica
‘many saves took surnames, often those of respected
whites inthe area, and also changed their fist name,
à ral that usually occurred during baptism

and which may have fostered the spread of
Christianity in the island.

60. ft:
kike À
iii.

non | N“ ”

61. African cultural forms in the
Caribbean up to 1838

To what extent did enslaved Aficas retain the
cultures ofthe tribes they came from? This ia
dificult question to answer because cultura at:

© cane the sume in diferent societies which have
never ha any contact with one another
(© may be adapted to new circumstances in ways
‘which, even though drawn from ancestral
culture may appear différent
© practised by one group in a new society may not
Be the ren of retention, but of eration.
For example, it has been argued that calypso and
mas in carnival are retained cultural traits which
are based on song and masks traditional in certain
African societies, However, satirical and bawdy
songs are also an English tradition and the ‘masque’
(from which comes the word masquerade) isa
French tradition, How do we know which tradition
Yoruba, English or French - the enslaved Aficans
drew on in adapting to life on the plantation?
Moreover, the planters made ita practice never to
Have many slaves from one particular tribe on their
plantations, knowing hat the cultural and language
dliferences would make rebellion more die.

Indeed, it was parly because the planters in
St Domingue ignored this rule thatthe Haitian
Revolution was possible (see Chapter 3).

2.68 The Carioca economy and saver

‘One way to resolve these problems isto examine
how many slaves were brought rom Africa and how
many were bora in dhe New Word. By 1808, for
«example, nearly all North American slaves were
native-born.

his woul imply that within one
generation ancestral cultural traits would be diluted
or disappear. In Jamaica, the proportion of native
African dropped from 50% in 1792 10 just 1

1838, Even so, since reproduction rates were very
low in the Caribbean, Afian cultural tits should
have been retained o a greater degree than in
North America. Indeed, Yoruba flourished in Cuba
well nto 20h cents persistence of
Alfican-Caribbean religions - Santeria in Cuba,
Vodumn in Haiti, Cumina and Myal in Jamia and
(Orisa in Trinidad ~ implies that syncrtim, at last,
vas strong cultural fore. Religion is inked to
leadership in ll non-moder societies, and it is

while

influential in several 21st century countries aswel
Some African cultural practice which were
retained inthis regard included rituals involving
ancestral spirits, taking an oath onthe family name
nd sealing an oath with blood. Many of these
practices were intended to solidify group bonds
between Africans onthe plantations. One
interesting mutation of traditional African belief
vas thatthe spirit ofa dead person retumed tothe
ancestos: 0 this was added the belie that the
person's spirit returned o Africa,

Dance forms and musical genres alo appear to
retain some elements of African traditions. Evening
dances were a notable practice among the enslaved
African, and dhe movements, which were also
linked to ancestor worship, were distinctly of
African origin. In Antigua and the Bahamas, the
Jukanoo dance is of African origin, si the uma
‘dance in Jamaica, However, the musical forms
which ae identified with people of African descent
inthe Americas - jazz, hythm and blues reggae
and calypso ~ are essentially New Word creations,
though musicologist identify African elements in
these genes

a

62. re Condit some reses o fran

ami
© ame to dances wit fan a

© Deere ne relive pra

[LEE olla

Me can alo examine linguistic features of
Caribbean dalets to see if they have any trait in
‘common with West Afian languages As fr back
as 1889, he Trinidadian scholar J.J. Thomas

argued that Creole was a dialect famed by Africans
fiom a European tongue’

Certain words in Caribbean dialect seem to be
translated directly fom African tongues big-eye
for greedy’, for instance is the same in Ibo and
‘Then there are what are called Joan translations”
from West Afian languages: phrases such a ‘sweet
mouth’ (0 Mater), eye water (cas), or door
‘mouth’ (entrance to building). Repetition e also a
feature of Yoruba and many Caribbean dilecis have
(his wit big big for ‘huge’ ul lalo for very
fay and “poto poto" for very slimy"

However, 17th century English has alo ef its
mark on Caribbean Anglophone dialect "ak for
“ask comes rom the original pronunciation of ax
in Old English; s 10 “rip for “rspy' (Bragg,
2003: pg 272). Linguists also believe that Creole
languages represent a biological ability in the
Human species to re-create language when
individuals are deprived oftheir mother tongue, so
this must be kept in mind when looking to
language to discover cultural retention (Bicker

1990: pg 171),

JOHN JACOB THOMAS

€. 1840-89)
Was f African desert. Although he di not experience

\Woscbose Normal Seto o tral asa tient cher
between 620 nd 640 a er In 2960, amas nas put
in charge of he Ward Scho are he woke ar five
inte Reciever’ Ofice y 1869, he ws a
Clr ofthe Peace a year tere was Secretary o
te Boar of Est

African descent at that Um. In 2873, aftr writing
Phiboges! Soy of Bran
Emin rotatorio Inter

63. REVISION QUESTIONS
1

mo

anor wy e a of rami (2), showing te
ont te vrs eal groupe. 25 mark)
CXC Past Papers General Profe Mayne 2002

ö (5 mars)

hoe rope? mare) close nel ats? 2S mare)
(al = 25 mars)

References and recommended reading

6

64. Resistance and revolt

History is about events, but history is alo about

people. Events tll you that happened, at to

‘understand why these evens happened, you have to
‘understand human beings. What makes people act
the way they do? Why do they make certain choices

and not others? What do human beings want? Only

by answering such questions can we truly
understand the events of history

In this chapter, we look at resistance and revolt by
the enslaved African. We vil ry to understand
why they rose up against their masters and, just as
importantly, why they did not. Although em
seem that the plantes, who had weapons and were
‘organized, had total control over the enslaved

people, the situation was not so simple, You can
‘lean some idea ofthe complex master-slave
relationship from the extracts in the three letters on
this page. In the example om 1518, shen slavery
was being established, he judge is dismissive ofthe
ally Just 24 years
later however, the archdeacon paints a picture of
saves who are carying on their own economic
activities under the master noses, and four years
afer that an oficial is saying thatthe masters need.

slaves and punishes them bra

to control their tone wit the slaves,

There may be some exaggeration in this at ete,
perhaps because the oficial were trying to get the

64

Crown to send more soldiers and other resources.
Yet he act remains thatthe planters were in

ant fear ofthe slaves rising up against them,

1518 Judge Alors Zune to Cardinal Ximees

1542 Arcóeacon Alvar de Castro ote Cun of
the Indies

1546, Anca of Hispaniola to Chaves Y

65. Reflecting hi fer, here were laws which allowed
whites (and some mixed-race people) to cary
arms, while every island had a militia In some
stands, such as Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti some of
the very large plantations had ther own mercenary
soldiers in enough numbers to keep the large
workforce of enslaved Africans under contol

they decided to rebel

il government
reinforcements could arrive, Apart from thes

militias, there were garrisons of regular army
troops, a small poli force, and individuals who
hunted escaped saves It should be noted that free

mixed and black people often served as par of the

security force. In the latter part ofthe
17 century and the early par ofthe 18th, there
were troops sai

ned in Antigua and Barbados.
This may be why the enslaved Africans on these

ds did not revolt as often a in the thers,

quel rebellions. Cuba isa good example of what
happened when troops were not present, since

there were several uprising in that island

Tate 18th century, when Spanish troops who had
banal

ned there were sen to Santo Domingo,
Florida and Louisiana

Most enslaved Africans were located on the
plantations, but their presence in the towns also
worried the white population onthe various

islands. Enslaved Africans in towns were the
equivalent of house slaves’ on the plantations
They were often domestic worker, skilled

raftsmen, Fishermen, sailors, even soldiers. As
such, they were more independent than their
hir

brethren on the plantations and, inde
whit

raser often complained how rude their
slaves were. One strategy used to keep these
slaved Afrcans obedient was the threat to send
them to work on the plantations, since the town
slaves knew they had relatively privileged life
Even so, there were special laws intended

control these enslaved Africans In the Dutch
ones, for example, no save was all
on the

cts, o to play music, or
alcohol after 9pm. In Jamaica and Barbados, the

towns had their own guards, whose main duty was

to police the enslave.

As you can see from Table 3.1, the Europeans were
so outnumbered tha ifthe slaves did rebel in an
‘organized fashion, there was no way that they could
be stopped. Remember hat he deadliest weapons
in this time were rifles which could only fre one
shot and then had t be reloaded. In 1696 in
Jamaica, for example, there were alread
Africans to one European, By 1

Tto one

78 the ratio was

Torito Years Slave)
sun ras os
cr 19 e
ve ES
1664 El
Ania 67e se
mo ”
ms ES
Martinique ees 5
169% es
va 8
Surname 1790 a
Baras 16 a
ves so

6

66. However this rales nother puzae, it was so
any to break the chains of slavery, why dicht
allthe slaves rise up and do so?

The account below is from an observer in 1657,
sugar planter named Richard Ligon, about this
situation. Ligon identified three main reasons why
the enslived Aficans did not revolt more
Frequently: they had no access to weapons; they
were psychologically cowed; and because they were
from differen ehnie groups, hey could not
‘communicate with one another well enough to
become organized fora revolt

An account by sugar pane, Richard Ligon

Fetal to appear in any
veal pars of Alia who can speak

When there were many more Arians than
Europeans on any particular colony, he authorities
‘were apt to make alliances with the mixed and free
black groups in order o strengthen themselves
against he numerically superior enshved African.
In 18th century Jamaica, for example, where slaves
made up nearly 90% of the population, mixed
groups were granted property and othe ight by
the white authorities, In Barbados, where the
proportion was 80%, free mixed people were also
allowed to own propery In 1816, there was a
rebellion which was quelled with he help ofthe
mixed group who fightin the militia aginst the
enslaved Afians, For this effort the mixed group
was granted farther rights, such as being able to

testy

var ‘sans
175 Sram

1734 danois

1736 Antigua

137 usc

1746 Jamaica

132 Guadeloupe

1746 anaica

meo ‘ren

vel Nes

ve Surinam

1765 danois

wo orales

vr Surnane

a ale, Morts

EBENE

(© On era tere was one uring evry tree years,
© Mos the sans any has ne revo while some
cn as Barbados ha none ~ Brands nad several
esto reve but ny are eel ina specie
© wit oe ecto none of tee revs ste int
‘les ever sutra In taking oer e an,

© For the hele tine the slave sat exe, is ny
happen ane oa, St Domingue (row Halt),
‘nd we wil examine Le reason fo at sues the

Caribbean slave laws

‘When you read about the slave ws in the British,
Spanish and French tetris, pou should keep in mind
‘hat what dhe ws sys not alway what was actly
done: ‘This was so, both For vs which protected saves,
and forlavs which oppressed them La reflect dhe
‘wishes ofthos in authori but enforcing vs, or
geting them followed, isa diferent mater altogether.
Inthe case ofthe British colonies, for example, the

laws were passed by lected people who lived onthe
islands, and approved by Crown oficial In the case

67. ofthe Spanish and the French though, it was the
rulers in Europe who drafted the las with the
«expectation that their subjects in he Caribbean
would obey the

‘The Spanish code was based on
an exiting document writen in 1265 called the
Site Paria (Seven-part Code) ‚and which, even
though rst created to deal with Jews and Moors
living in Spain, was applied to the New World slave
stem. The diferent British colonies had dheir own
slave laws; the main one was the Barbados Slave
“Gode of 1661 which was writen to regulate the
indentured servants, The French, however drew up
a Code Noi in 1685 wh

ch was supposed to deal
with issues that had arisen as Frenchmen colonized
the West Indies and setup sugar plantations. For this
reason, the Siete Partids was often concerned with
preserving he Catholic religion and preventing

inter mariage, The English regulations were mostly
concerned with preventing slaves from owning
property or engaging in commercial activites Clause
19 ofthe 1661 Barbados Slave Code sud ha:

The la authorized armed patrols o capture such
runaways ‘ithe alive or dead and fered 500 pounds
ol sugar or enslaved Afcans who had been missing
for six months, and twice that for hose who had
escaped for more than year Richard Ligon, a planter
and slave owner in his book writen about Barbados in
1657, noted that he runaways

and caves, living
‘extremely large and capaciows The runaway
Negroes often shelter themselves in thes

covers fora long time, and in the night rang

all day, upon what they stole the night before:
md the nights being dark, and their bodies
black, they seape un

3.6 Raitnce a evo

Escaped slaves woried the plantes because they
‘undermined the plantation system and also attacked
the planters and their propery. They reduced a lave

‘owner's workfore, could not be easly found, lived
food they stole from white lands and could incite

or encourage other saves to un away. The planters

were arf that runaway slaves were conspiring with
‘one another for rising mutinyes or rebelion.

In response to an attempted uprising in 1676, the
Barbados legislature passed an act which extended
the 1661 law: The new Act specified the
pnishments for particular crimes. also dealt with
issues such as lave assaults on whites and the het
and destruction of white property; and limited the
involvement ofslavesin the skied trades, The
planters were concemed about internal movement of
enslaved African, which was more common among,
the skilled artisans and faitated contact among
people from different plantations. The Act regulated
the numberof slaves hired out, noting that because of
their movement from plantation t plantation
“have more opportunity of contvingmischicf and
rebellion than the Negroes employed oa in thee
master plantations? The Actalo tried to rein
the wanderings and meetings of Negroes all times,
especially on Saturday nights, Sundays, o other holy
days and ordered regular searches of slaves* houses
forrunavays, ‘dubs, wooden swords, or ther
mischievous weapons’ stolen goods, and ‘drums,
hhoms, shells, or other loud instruments which may
cal [them] together to give sign or noce 0 one
another oftheir wicked design and purposes? Slave
‘owners were also fined i they permite slaves o
eat drums, blow shel or use any other oud
instrument and hey ad to pay an even heavier Feit
«y permited ‘any public meting o eating of
strange Negroes in their plantations.

"The Code Noir direcly addressed issues of
punishment or slaves and masters! responsbiits.

o

68. "The enslaved Africans were not allowed t own
property especially when it came to owning and
selling sugarcane. Any Alcan who attacked a white
person would be executed. Aficans were not
allowed to gather in groups, not even for socia
occasions sch as marriage or worship,

‘The Code allowed slaves to complain tothe

authorities if their owners m

treated them, The
masters were supposed to baptize the African
slaves teach them the Catholic uth and not break

up families. The masters were also supposed to
allow saves to buy thee freedom. The Code
specified how much food and clothing was to be
provided 0 the enslaved workers and it banned
torture although whipping was allowed).

However, you should keepin mind tha, given
the length of time it took to send messages
between the Caribbean and Europe,
disagreements would take avery long time to
settle. This is why the Crowns had officials in the

colonies and why these officials had soldiers to
enforce the Crowns will
‘enforcement depended on the off

ren then, such
als being loyal,
proactive in enforeng the lw and unwilling to
take bribes from the colonists. That combination
was more the exception than the rule

You might also ak hy the rulers in Europe found it
necessary to draw up slave codes all ruhe han just
length colonists handle ther business. The tw

‘main reasons were that Crowns wanted to ensue tha;

© they got revenues from the vast sugar wealth
coming from the colonies

© the colonists did not end up fighting one another
‘over the spoils ofthis wealth

So, what were the main provisions ofthe various
slave codes? The historian Isane Dookhan distilled
the causes of the Code Noir, the Site Partidas
and the Barbados Code and divided them
wo sections. One st of provisions was for the
protection ofthe slaves and the other for protection
ofthe planters. Dookhan categorized these as
disability clauses" and ‘beneficent clause’, Under
the fist, these were some ofthe m

© Slaves could not cary weapon
for their masters,

unless hunting

© Slaves owned by diferent masters could not
gather at anytime for any purpose.

© Slaves could not sel sugarcane, provisions,
firewood! and a host of other goods,

© Theft oflarg animal and other valuable
property was punishable by death

Slaves who ran away once and were then caught
would have their ears cut off and be branded;
twice, branded again; and, fihey ran away
three times, they would be execued,

© Slaves could not own property oil any office.
Then there were the heneficent clauses, which
included the following provisions.

© Masters were to give a weekly supply offood to
their slaves aged above 10 years: two-and-half
pots of lou, two pounds of salt ef and
three pounds of ish,

© Each slave was o get ovo linen suits or four ells
oflinen every year.

© Slaves should not be tortured or mutated and,
iT they were, they would be confiscated and the
master prosecuted,

© Families were not 10 be broken up when slaves
were sold,

© ‘Slaves who were old, sick or otherwise weak
should be cated for by their master

69. Did the planters and other whites abide by these
codes? There i some evidence to substantiate
claims of abuse - the high death rate cannot just
be attributed to overwork. Many uprisings were
due to more extreme treatment ~ especially in
times of hardship. However ifthe planters were
breaking the law, whether by treating the slaves
wel or treating them horrendously, they would
hardly have admitted it - and al he records we
have from that time were written by the
Europeans, Sometimes, though, accounts written
by travellers and some legal documents give a
neight into the day-to-day workings ofthe slave
societies We know chat some planters granted
slaves their freedom after they became too old
to work, so the planter would no longer have to
feed and clothe them. We also know that some
slaves were allowed to trade and to hire

themselves out

‘The slave laws were intended to deny any rights,
and indeed any humanity, to the Africans. The
Barbados Code contained alot of non-legal
phrases, asserting that Africans were ‘wholly
"unqualified to be governed by the laws, customs,
and practices of the English nation’ and
describing them as having a barbarous, wild and
savage nature’ All this was intended to justify
enslavement, and isin fact an admission that the

slave owners at some level knew that their actions
were morally indefensible. When human beings
attempt o deny such moral guilt, especially to
themselves, they often act even more
reprehensibly. For example, English colo
‘executed any enslaved African suspect
serious offences (particularly planning a rebellion,
and certainly atempting one). They also tortured
offenders in public, by branding them with hot
irons, whipping them and cutting of limbs.

6

70. 7

4 ru wecno’s COMPLANNT.

33 Te Nero Compa The arte 1626 Bh i

We know that planters did mutilate and torture
slaves, which means that they did ignore the
Bencfiial provisions ofthe slave codes in act,
the actions ofa sadistic French planter named Le
Jeune, who you will ead more about in he sect
‘on the Haitian Revolution, may have helped spark
that revolt, We even have records from an English
‘state manager named Thomas Thislewood, who
kept diary which ran to over ten thousan

and which includes details ofthe shocking
nts Thislewood meted out to slaves.

panishm
Yet the very fact that Thistlewood wrote down
these accounts so casually suggests that he
considered such brutal acts quite normal.
However, the slave owners were partly constrained
by the fact that they needed to maintain their
“proper so the enslaved Aficans could produce
for the owners plantations

Even ifa white person murdered an enslaved

in, Ihe white was never guilty of murder, but
‘of damage to property, for which the usual fine
was £15. However this law was changed inthe
1830s, and murderinga slave became an offence
lat as with murdering a white person, was

punishable by death in the British colonies. This
brings us to the various methods used to control
the enslave

okay

Physical control
Physical punishments often the frst option human

beings use when they want to ge other huma

beings to obey them. On the sugar plantation the
whip was the main device used o punish slaves
There were several different kinds of whip, but the
‘main one was the bullwhip, which was made of
lite lather and which could be as deadly as a
ie or cutlass. bullwhip, when wielded by an
overseer or driver who knew how to use, could

inflict deep cuts because of the speed at which the
tip accelerated

Slave could be whipped while at workin the fl,
ifthe overseer thought they were not working hard
‘enough or fast enough. For specifi infraction
however, the lave was usally ted o a post (or
post) and given a numberof ashes,

Other punishments might
in fot iron for some days, or chaining hem to
heavy blocks of wood, which they had to carry
around as they worked in the fields. Apart rom
the effort of walking with these tems, the rabbin
ofthe irons or the cola inflicted additonal pain
asthe skin became raw: The planters also used
tinplate masks which could be locked, to prevent
the saves eating the sugarcane or food cooked
for the whites,

Jude putting the slaves

Slaves were mutilated, with limbs and ears and even
‘genitals being cut of Mutilated saves were, by
their very appearance, a warning to othe slaves

to behave. Psychopathic masters sometimes
tortured ther slaves o death, burning them alive
‘or burying them up tothe head near ants nests
and smearing them with sugar.

71. Physical punishment, however has ts its in a slave
system. Aer, the planter wanted his slaves cto
work, Punishing the save psychologically o ao
gota docile and obedient, was just as important
as physical coercion. A French book by Hilliard
d'Auberteuil published in the 1750s, tha had the
official blessing ofthe French government, asserted:

disdain generally involved portraying
the African a less than human, or as a mentally
and emotionally undeveloped human being.
Psychological abuse ofthe slave also served as
psychological balm forthe master, because such
abuse made it easier for the master o justify the
cructis and exploitation of other human beings,
he stereotype ofthe enslaved African was
labelled Sambo in North America and Quashee
in 18th century Jamaica. According to this
stereotype, the typical plan
“docile but irresponsible, loyal but lazy humble
but chronically given to lying and stealing:
his behaviour was full of infantile silliness and
his alk inflated with childish exaggeration’

n

72. n

‘As you will se later inthis chapter, however, his
stereotype was actully a factor used by the slaves
to undermine the masters.

the European planters made sure to reinforce the
‘slaves inferior status to them a every tum. Apart
from the laws which stopped them from geting any
financial independence slaves were not supposed
to lookat any white person in the eyes, they always
had to address white people respectfully and bow
their heads when the master orany white person
walked by. Ragged clothes were also used as a
psychological device to display the blacks inferior
status, with some colonies actually having laws
‘which made ita criminal offence for any slave to
‘wear fine garments

Ye al ths was sl nor enough forthe Europeans
10 prove to themselves how inferior the Aficans
were. In 1696, law was passed in Jamaica saying
that no slave was free just because he or she
became a Christian. This was par matter of
language - Europeans had not yet started calling
themselves white, hut instead usually described
themselves as Christian (the implication being that
the world was divided into Christians and
heathens). However when some slaves started
‘converting to Christianity this label had to be
‘changed. À visitor to Barbados in the mid-17h
‘century recorded

[Leer] a slave who wished to be Chistian,
but on interceding with the slave's
master, was told thatthe people of the Island
‘were governed by the Lawes of England,

and by those Lawes, we could not make a
Christan a save

‘This postion had obviously changed 50 years
later, since a law was now deemed necessary to
keep black Christians enslaved. The French
philosopher Montesquieu, whose ideas were pat
‘ofthe basis for Ihe American constitution,
‘mocked this approach by noting, “The blacks
could not be men for, otherwise, the whites
could not be Christians

For this and other reasons, the white colonists often
resisted attempts by missionaries to tach the
‘enslaved Aficans Christianity, even in the French
and Spanish colonies where the
‘ordered this be done. The extrac from a 1764

Crown had

Teer written by the Governor of Martinique
explains why

‘Religious instruction could give to the
blacks here an opening to other knowledge, toa
kind of reason. The saftyof the whites, Fewer
mumber surrounded by people on hei estates and
at heir merey, demands that they be kept in.
profoundest ignorance?

When the colonists eventually relented, or were
forced wo by the authorities in the mother counties,
religion was used a form of control. Quoting
passages on slavery fom the Bible, the planters and
‘hutch officials used Christianity oust slavery
In those colonies where religious conversion and
instruction was allowed, the emphasis was on
remaining obedient and content with your lot in
der 10 inherit the Kingdom of Heaven after death
(Christianity was therefore used to pacify the slaves
justa it had been used to justify enslaving the
‘the early period of slavery

Within Europe itself here was much debate on
whether slavery was right or wrong. In 1685, the
CCouneil ofthe Indies in Spain issued, after being
asked to do so by the King, an opinion that the
slave trade was lawful that the Catholic fai
would not be perverted and noting that St Paul in
the Bible had ordered slaves to accept their status
In France, book published in 1675 argued in
favour of enslaving African on the grounds that
(Christian merchants thus saved African souls by
removing them from a land where idolatry or
Islam ruled.

Philosophers also joined in this discussion.
“The Englishman John Locke, whose ideas helped
create modern Western democracy, argued that

slavery was justified when it was the outcome ofa

aval war but he also wrote thats

73. This opinion did not prevent Locke rom investing
inthe Royal Afican Company (RAC) when it
started trading saves, The Scottish philosopher
David Hume wrote in 1754 of Afrcans that:

Ironically, one of Hume major contributions to
philosophical thought isthe idea that just because
‘wo events happen together, it doesnot me

‘one caused the other. There

ois own oi,
he hol not have conde hati was ay
videos of Alcan lor

aparatos nue ee |
by reason ad tolerance bt ta inten of

74. m

By contrast the political philosophe and founder
‘of modem economics Adam Smid wrote in 1750:

‘The natural philosopher Charles Darwin,
co-discovererof organi evolution, described his
‘countrymen as ‘polished savages in England who
id not count blacks as “their brethren, e
God eyes

Teas the French philosophers, such as Rousseau,
Diderot and Condorcet, who had the most
immediate impact, however. Their arguments on the
rights and equality ofall human beings contributed
tothe French Revolution of 1789 and that sparked
offthe Haitian Revolution two years later

75. You might find i strange that the Europeans
debated thisissue so much among themselves, This
vas party because slavery itself contradicted some
ofthe fundamental ideas that were bringing about
socal and policial changes in Europe, especialy in
the late 18th century Freedom itself was a notion
that fst arose in Wester civilizacion. In most

non Wester languages, no word for freedom even
«existed before encounters with Europeans So the
Europeans found it necessary to find ideological
justifications even for themselves. As we will sein
Chapter 4, however the contradictions of tying to
believe in freedom while ensaving another race
helped bring about the abolition of slavery

How were enslave Arcas controled?

© Divide and rl raten vas u

Socio-cultural control
Culture is the foundation ofall human groups.
‘When people share dhe same religion, play the same
games, dessin a similar fashion, eat inthe same
‘manner and so on, they bond with one another

The more people bond through culture, the more
organized they become asa group. For the whit
populacein the Caribbean, such organizing by the

3.68 Resistance ad revolt

enslaved Aficans would have posed a serious

Urea 0 they did everything in thei power to

cradicate any ultra activites hat the blacks
ight have brought with them from Africa, or that

they might have created in the Caribbean.

lt was for is reason that the authorities in the
Caribbean passed laws which banned drums
and dancing by the blacks, Some of thes laws
existe well nto the 20h century

DAI you know?

rin Alcan, Tr mode dy ste

“The planer also made sure dat they did not buy
slaes only from one tbe, sine his would have
made tease for them to communicate with one
another and to plan revolts. Table 3.3 shows how no
set of dave from one region in Africa dominated any
Caribbean island, and, bear in mind that even in one

region the saves would have consisted of diferent
tribal groups who were often in conf, This
technique worked vel in allie islands except
Jamaica, and we will explain why Jamaica was the
‘exception in he section on resistance by slave.

The ih hate Sango unbe

Spaniards al aise

| © wo or whats te ambi
© who ar wha i

15

76. %

Ona map of mo

The whites lso farther divided the slaves by
making some of them house slaves and treating
them, arguably, beter than ther fellows in the fil
House slaves were also appointed as drivers, with
responsibility to maintain discipline among the
fel slaves, Such techniques helped prevent any
attempt bythe slaves to become organized Indeed,
when revolts were being planned, the favoured
slaves would often war the master, thus allowing

the whites to nip the pan in the bud, usually
hanging the leaders immediately. OF ll rebellions
in the English colonies between 1649 and 1833,
nearly half were stopped right at the start because
“ofbetrayal or because the lave owners found out
about them through other means,

Another important par of socio-cultural control
was ensuring that slaves did not gain even minin
economic independence. In 1711,a law was
passed which forbade slaves to keep horses or
cate. Another law said hat any slaves who sold
fish, ces or sugar or who hired
themselves out would be punished by whipping.
As we have noted, however, these las were often,
ignored in the colonies, particularly when a
planter had skilled artisan he could hire out to
other planters.

anufsctured a

Women’s situation under slavery

Conditions onthe pl
men and women, except in cases where the woman

vatios were similar for both

was the concubine ofa plante or slave owner. Only
then might she have received beter treatment than

her slaves. Inthe end, however the experience of
slavery was brutal for both sees.

Im an atempt to contol the enslaved Afcans,
families were separated - husbands and wives were
sold separately and children were taken from their
‘mothers. This had serious implications on the social
lives ofthe enslaved African Also, African men were
emasculated and many women were raped and

sexually abused. tis important to note the following,

© Enslaved women worked alongside men in the
fields and were expected to perform similar
duties, They were valued more for thir ability to

cunt the

work than for thee ability to reprodu
slave trade was abolished.
© Enslaved women were punished just ike the

enslaved males. They were whipped and beaten
for minor offences; chained together; mutilated
hanged and burnt in publi

9 Laws were passed in the colonies to prevent
enslaved women from having rights, such as
politcal rights,

‘© Enslaved women were prevented from mixing
with other groups in the society; they could not
move around freely; they were unable to gather
in groups. However, as enslaved women played
an important roe in cultiating the provision
rounds and were some of the main traders at
the Sunday markets, they were crucial in the
spread of news within the plantation and from
one plantation to the next. In this way they acted

as communicators and were instrumental in
planning revolts by passing information from
one group tothe next

Barbados (%) Jamaica) tia) Nevis (2)
RESTES pS ee 32
Big of Sein 25 2 » 12
Bight of Biafra RR: BIT BER 24
et a Catral Arica 10 20 n 2

77. Enslaved women, like all other enslaved Africans, y

were disallowed from practsing their African

ultra forms. However as mothers, they

resisted slavery by teaching their children about

indigenous African cultures.

Rape and sexual assault were a common feature

‘ofslavery: Many gies and women were raped

from the time of capture

© Female slaves especialy those who were
mothers, may have experienced more
psychological trauma than enslaved men.
Enslaved women sometimes practised forms

contraception, abortion and infanticide to
deprive the master of gaining more saves

Debate he flog

The Jamaican proverb ‘Pay fol, to catch wise
encapsulates the non-violent means the Afcans
‘sed to rebel agains thei enslavement in the
Caribbean. While he slavcholder defined the save
as dependent, the slaves tried to ensue that the
masters actions were predictable. This was why
they played up to the masters opinion of them as
lillie or foolish, as away of deflecting
aggression, Yet observers noted that the slaves?

actions with one another were those of
dividuals who seemed to enjoy lie far more than
their circumstances would seem to allow. This, hen,
was very subtle form of resistance by the enslaved
Alrcans

Another method was to live up to the masters
‘opinion ofthe slave as lar Xi was believed hat
the slaves were lz hi gave them a reason to
do lees work than they actually could, which

‘meant less productivity, which meant harming,
the master where it most counted ~ in his profits,
Such a strategy had to be finely judged though,

as too much slacking of would result in whipping,

A more direct method of rebellion was poisoning
the save owners ~ relatively easy to do because the
slaves were cooks, maids and cleaners. One well
‘known case was that ofa runavay save named
Macandal in St Domingue (formerly Santo,

Domingo when owned by the Spanish) Macandal
used to sneak on to the plantations and give the
house slaves poison to putin the master food or
dink, He did this for eight yeas, until he was
caughtand burned alive.

78. 7

A third method ofrebelion was infanticide -
some female slaves killed ther babies as soon as
they were born, so the master would not get

another slave, However, as you would expect,
most mothers baulked at infanticide and the

number of Creole slaves {slaves born in the
islands, not in Africa) continued to grow in all
the colonies,

‘One aspect of slavery which has often been
overlooked because of inadequacies of source
material is concubinage. Historian Barbara Bush
noted that white men “utilised the alleged
physical and moral inferiority ofthe black

to establish them firmly in the role of
the “other woman”. While concubinage may
have been European planters and managers"
ways oftaking advantage of enslaved women,

these women were sometimes able to tur the
bles and use this to their advantage

‘oncubinage became one ofthe ways in which
enslaved women used their bodies to resist their
everyday situation. By sing sexual relations with
the planters they were able to improve their daly

conditions to some extent - perhaps through
better meals, better accommodation or other
tangible forms of reimbursement for their efforts,
Some enslaved mothers even sought concubinage
for their daughters because ofthe rewards that
could result and because children of such unions
might have bette opportunities than other
children

In other instances enslaved women would use their
‘concubine status to attempt to undermine the role

ofthe planters wife and to increase their own

status. European women were therefore generally
annoyed about cases of sexual relations between
white men and enslaved African women,

The jealousy ofthe white Creole adie is

intense. The easy availabilty of other wome
reduces ther status. They are intended to breed

Enslaved women we

obviously willing to grasp

whatever opportunities came thei way and, wile

the planters and masters thought they were sing the
women, it could potentially e sen as the women
who were using their bodies to theiradsantag

Many times enslaved women could use their
Femininity o become close to the white planters,
gain their rust and gather information. On the other
hand, social interactions are complex, and there are
‘examples where women provided warning to the
planters about planned revolts. In one such casein
Barbados in 1676,a domestic slave by the name of
Fortunna overheard a conversation about a planned
revolt and informed her master The authorities
quickly arrested named participants and arraigned
them before a court martial. 17 were rapidly found
sly and executed, while sx were burned alive and
others beheaded and their bodies dragged
through the streets at Speightstown and afterwards
burned wit others who were burned alive. On

24 November 1675, the House of Assembly fred
Fortunna as reward for her eminent service othe
good ofthis country in discovering the intended
plotted rebellion ofthe Negroes

Resistance by enslaved women

© infants
© cultural resistance = mater passed on tra

© sting as communi

© runing any and

79. «
The impact o resistance by enslaved women on

Fal Ske tla

3.68 Reine an el

surectonaryesistane

As he planters were completes focused on profit
roaximization and were reluctant to fed thei slaves
property enslaved Afcans were allowed to grow

their own fod on secondary nd ale provision
grounds. The fod produced on this and contributed
towards the daily maintenance ofthe enslaved.
However the provision grounds also gave the
‘enslaved men and women a sense ofindependence
and created a sense ofideni: The slaves gained a
respite from the daly routine onthe plantations as
they were feed from plantation labour for one and a
half days week to work their provision ground

Women played a significant role not only as
curators in the provision grounds, but also
entrepreneurs in the Sunday markets where slaves
were allowed to trade thei produce. As mentioned

earlier in bis chapter they acted as an important
medium of communication among the enslaved
population and we

instrumental in spreading
messages of revolts. To this extent, they therefore
played a significant role in undermining the system
of slavery as itexstedin the Caribbean.

Culture
Women also acted asa main medium of culture
though communication with their children and as
the caregivers in the home. They were in many
ways responsible for cultural transmission and
perpetuation.

hey usd the practice oftheir
indigenous African cultures to show that they were
‘unwilling to conform to what was required of then.
Even when they converted to Christianity they
introduced certain aspects oftheir cultural lifestyles
to the various churches. In this way they played an
important role in modifying European culture and
propagating their own,

Dress

Enalived African women used dress as a form of
resistance. Ther imitation ofthe styles ofthe white
women was intended to show that they were on

equal footing with these women. They also ted

n

80. thie head ties in particular ways which were
symbolic to them alone and in so doing they
‘were able to carry messages. This was especially
prevalent in the French islands,

Dance and music
‘The drum was used to transmit messages to
other enslaved people on other plantations.

More importantly dance and music also gave the
slaves sense of identity helped them to retain
solidarity and gave them strength to cope with
their daily situation as well as to resist heir
position as enslaved people

Insurrectionary resistance
“The first slave revolt in the Caribbean area
happened before sugar was the man crop, on the
Portuguese colony of Sio Tomé in 1517. The fst
revolt by enslaved Afians, interesting
happened in the same island hat was to have the

only successful revolution 274 years late, in

Spanish-governed Hispaniola. The frst revolt in a

sugar colony happened in 1656, on the French
deloupe.

island of G

Estimates of total rebelion between the mid- 17h
18308 number around 70, shichisa

century and
total average rat ofless than one per year As you can
see from Table 3.4, the numberof revolts more han
double during the 18th century fra varity of
reasons. There were more Creole slaves than Afcan
‘ones, which not only made communication casier

Major res by enslaved African inthe West Indes
Berbee 1763

Were: Berit, Surinam (he rast Di in

Who
© Kof Cup was the main leader

© Atta and Alara were ote ders

at ancient ethnic varies did not
stand in the way of geting organized. The save

owners also became harshe in their treatment ofthe
shaves, party because they had become accustomed

to the idea that there was a race of people who, in
their minds, they ha total power ove,

century Total eels
AT TEE TT
ae 36
MEA TRE

Odd a it might seem, revolts became more
‘common because the situation of the slaves
improved. They knew they had some pr
under the la, some of them had learned to read
and more had been fred or were allowed more

freedom in thei dil activites. Revolutions
general do not happen when people are totaly
subjugated, but when they have tasted abit of
liberty. The drop in revolts in the 19th century is
therefore misleading, sine th abolition ofslavery
in he English colonies meant that there was no
need for any more revolts.

ON

1 pa a eat arsenic tesis te,

y tro happen?
© Ten

© They knew tat he whites were a weakens group

Wasitascces?

cout &

81. Tree wore weakened dor ee pe wi!

aos, 1816 aso called the Easter Rebelion)

Wer: A 1826 (e revel laste re dye rom

Barbosa

a

82. «
Wasita succes?

© The revolt as planed and ex

Demerara, 1823,
When: 18 August 1823
Where states on Plantation Success and spero

wo

sat of Deer.

© Tr sr re
dat Vay mision ofthe Bethel Capel
soc wi he Lard Misery Sed,
incharge of te Bethel Chape

Wye revo happen?

© It happened in ressens to ameratin proposal.

© hn Sith was reste fau
Vo han bth ded in pion
© Thee es

© over 200 saves wre ile inthe een,

o

© Te bein ere te ae

Same, Christmas Rebellen, 2832
‘When: 26 December 1831 05 January 1632
Where: St James Parish

Whe

© Tester

Why ithe revel hapren?

© Sharp's aim was at e
worn Orsimas Day in rots tot uma

that after Cvistmas

Visita secs?

thereon.
© sha

samy acd traning and experience ad he

© Aoprodmatey 207 enslaved Ariane were st
© Share was captured and hanes in publie and more

© There was trie damage t plates,

83. Island Revolt (%)

Those slaves who ran away and established small
settlements in the mountainous areas of Jamaica,
British Guiana and Suriname were called the
“Maroons. The word is derived from ‘marronage’
which came from the Spanish word "cimarron

Tio types can be disinguihed - grand marronage

refers to large groups of people who ran away rom

plantations and petit marronage’ describes individuals

‘orsmall groups who ran avay The grand marronage
le tothe esablishment of Maroon communities while
the petit marronage was comprised of people who
‘would sometimes return tothe plantains and who
‘em be sen as habia runaways or people who just
tried to getaway fom ther simio tempor

As te Maroon communities increased the slave
‘owners fle more threatened. Successful Maroon
‘communities were established in Jamaica, as seen
with the Sambo-Mosquito on the Mosquito Coast,
Cudjoe Town (named after leader General Cudjoe)
and Nanny Town,

a

84. Reasons forthe success of Maroon communities

© Georahicaltopogranhy was use o advantage
Ars Te European ad ficas in traera
treu mh Pare by e plante.

© The Maroons estables welled communes,
‘stable tse communis thy had an orgies

© They became sect communities They
produc enough to fed themes Te planted

© They established symbloe relatos with the
indigenas peoples. They meter Tino
sri ne rotar rs ná os
relationship in na the Tana taught he Maroons
of ergs and methods 0! min,

© Tetr knowledge and practic of queria wate
Vas vale They rer hs tes

© The Maron leaders were very flere, Various
Community mentar. Try lan
{he communi For sample, General Cdi

© To some extent Maroon communities sun
cause Europeans grew o fear and even respect
them. This ls ein byte wate when were
War (1729-39) ad the Second Maroon War
(0795-96,

‘Maroon communities were one ofthe great
contradictions of slavery proving tothe master hat
African were not childlike and docile, They served
asa constant reminder tothe white comm
Aficans w

governing, They alo reminded the slaves that
there was an alternative to their current situation,
and were therefore a source of hope.

‘Second Maroon War (1795-96)

The Haitian Revolution
In 1788, coffe plante in St Domingue (soon tobe
Hai) murdered four ofhis slaves and tortured wo
more. The plantes name was LeJeune, and his odd
station for these acts was to prevent his slaves
being poisoned, because he found 100 many of them
had been dying, The two slaves he tortured were
‘women, He roasted their legs and elbows over a fire
Le Jeune knew it was agains the lw to torture, so,
he threatened his slaves with execution they told
anyone what he had done, However slaves in

St Domingue knew their rights and 14 of them laid a
complaint o the authorities. A commission was
appointed, which actually found the two women stil,
chained where they had been tortured, their elbows
and legs rotting from being bumed. Both of them
‘eventually died fom thei injures,

85. Le Jeune fled he island before he could be
arrested, but he need not have worried. After a
hearing and several petitions to the Governor,
despite the evidence gathered by the commission
‘which confirmed the slaves accusations, Le Jeune
vas acquitted of all charges. The other plantes
displayed some disagreement in their responses to
the ease. Some demanded that Le Jeune be freed
and the 14 slaves given 50 lashes exch for accusing
him. The Chamber of Agriculture, however, long
with 70 planters, wrote to the Governor saying
that Le Jeune should be banished from the colony.
‘When the charges were dropped, the publi
prosecutor demanded an appeal, but Le Jeune’s

acquit was eventually upheld

This case had two effects t showed the slaves that
they would not get justice from the planters, bu it
also showed them that action could have
‘consequences ~ afer al, Le Jeune had been forced
to leave St Domingue. This combination of
frustration and confidence prepared the ground for
when the French Revolution, with its watchwords
of Liber, Fraternity, Equality’ erupted in France
just one year later.

Causes of the Haitian Revolution

Te Haitian Resolution of 1791 is unique in hat
the slaves succeeded in overthrowing he plantes,

ing over the island completely, and remaining in
power. Haiti hu became the first black-raled
‘ation in the Western hemisphere. However, several

factors had o come together fr this to happen,
"The main ones wer:

© the collapse ofthe French monarchy

© the large numbers of African saves imported
into St Domingue in a short period of time

ne existence ofa large mixed-race cass

© an ntligentand strongvilld Inder in
Toussaint LOuverture

© the extreme conditions in St Domingue.

Ione or more ofthese factors had been missing,

the Haitian Revolution might stil have happened,

but isles likely to have lasted, Other colonies

had some of these factors, but none had all. Many

362 Resistance and reat

historians have focused on Tous

int as the key to
the Revolution’ success but his ‘Great Man
theory of history is now largely dismissed, since

we have come to understand that the social and
political conditions must also exist for great
leader to rise

any single factor was most crucial, it was probably
the instability ofthe revolutionary government in
France, whose members had executed the king and

nurdering
plots multiple,
‘The revolutionary government, sticking to its ideal
of equality also mandated that slavery had to be

most ofthe aristocrats and then beg
one another as plots and count

abolished. The slaves in St Domingue thus had the
belie tha they had been freed but the planters were
‘opposing their own government. This belief would
have emboldened the slaves to revolt against

system which, always unjust, they now believed
sas ao illegal

"The second factor was the huge numbers of
Africans in the island. St Domingue was, at this
time, the wealthiest colony in the Caribbean.

By 1754, it had 599 sugar plantations and over
3,000 indigo plantations, When the Seven
Years? War (1756-63) ended, production
increased even more as rade resumed. In 1767,
St Domingue exported 32 million kilograms of

raw sugar and 23 million kilograms ofrefined
sugar, 100,000 kilos of indigo and $00,000 kilos
ofcotton, along with rum, molasses, cocoa

and coffee

The colonists began importing slaves in ever
larger numbers to keep up production and profs
From 1764 10 1771, between 10,000 and 15,000,
slaves were brought in every year, By 1786, it was
27,000 and by 1787 more than 40,000 slaves
‘were being brought in annually. By 1789, more
‘han 66% ofthe 500,000 slaves in St Domingue
had been born in Africa, The result was not only
an increasing disproportion of numbers between
whites and blacks, but also closer unity among
the slaves who were brought in tribal batches,
which resulted in a more close-knit slave

s

86. he hir factor, the mixed-race class, was also
important, Fist ofall, thie very existence
showed that any gap between white and black
was not unbridgeable. As you learned inthe
section on ideological contro, the whites tried to

ify slavery by claiming thatthe blacks were
ess than human ~ but th

dy had increasing
numbers of children with them. This is another
great contradiction ofthe slavery period
Tdeology cannot withstand biology

Second, the mulattoes were potential allies forthe
slaves, eventhough some of them were planters
and slave owners th

nselves and even though
most of them tried to win favour withthe whites,
In 1790 though, inspired by the revolutionary
‘events and hetoric from France, they rebelled
and demanded fall equality with the whites. This
rebelion was put down, but then the French
government agreed to the den

smixed-race group. This resulted in an internal
war between the 35,000 mixed-race and the
42,000 whites, with both sides using the 400,000
blacks to fight ther bats, I was that Fighting
which provided the opportunity for the enslaved
Alricans to take control.

The conditions, therefore, were right for a leader of
‘Toussaint’ sature to emerge In evo
leaders have rarely

heen fom the oppressed group.
Instead, they are more often relatively privileged
people who, for various reasons, tke up the cause
ofthe underclass

1791. You have te coportnty to adres nut 50

TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE

‘verte, ban in St Dinge in 743,

ance wre he Ge 1803 wi ra

ain lados ofthe Hita Revolution
Other ha Tesei Ours these were the

man Dutt vas arica or si

2rd the oda of parao, He gt his rane from his

»

87. €
“ean Francos (Papilio) was a ge rem ret
ho became a Maron og tor he rest bz, He ok

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was born nto slavery a

Factor contrato

The succes ofthe French Ron ha an pac

© Free minedrace and slaves in Malt wanted equality

© The French Revolution had an isooical farce

rs Arian à go opportunity 0 fg fr hel own
freedom
© Entire Africa war abe ou tr ey to sin

The Haitian Reel
18 Jy 1789 The Bate fort in Par stale by
‘September 1789 à mimo vc delegan aks

Apr 1790 Te Corset Asset in Franc ette

3. Resistance nd real

%

Sang leadership played role in he sccssa etcome

© Leaders emerged ho gave proper glance tothe
cosine Alcan

© Same des, sch a Tos! Lowerue were

© Leer ererged who were tines In ui warfare

October 1790 Ope epresenting te Friend ofthe
March 1791 Tue regents of Freeh sols set to

#7

88. "gust 179 - Under Bookman, a Vocın pri, ever
{toute aves rl. Save arg murder ther masters

September 1791 Tossa Ouverture ans the

19 October 1791 - A concord sgt between he
royal earmanca the ih white and the masa
‘battalions of the National Guard tobe reruited rom
colony) tobe dissolved; and Oge to be declare a hero. The
24 October 1791 ~The eases of the whites ante

22 November 1791 - Voting fr atico of he
is hameo by same we, an incident which sparks off
29 November 1791 Tree comisiones ro the
National Assembly ave In St Ding 1a estore ode
The rest na been ae at he west provinces of the
leader Jean Francis who agrees t lea is lors
their freedom The calais ed by Toscar Omer
te cone the revo and net stop un every persa

Apr 792 A dere dng mid race pop

April 1792 = Te white patron Port-au-Prince re
rer sige rom an aline royal commander
ly 1792 - Tossal as formed an amy starting with

19 September 1792 Tore comisiones ser byte
Naina seb are In St Domina to ugpres e
resol with 6000 ers ad 5 ia.

30 September 1792 ne over he

2 sansa 2793 ~The French king is execute

June 1798 Tre Spanish autores offer the lacks a
Biassou are apocitedlevtenants general ofthe armies
fe Kin of Span a Tossal made a clon! in
and of 600 men.

29 gut 1793 One le comuniones, Soon,

9 September 1793 - Bin cs
December 2793 - Tossa forces take majo ars,

ana 1799 — To Bish take control of he seaboard of
May 1794
“ame 1794 Tous, ih 4000 toes ac omer

January 1796 To

Mach 1796 ~The mére stage 09 which sat
17 August 1796 Teussait mae ger by he
French goverment

Early 1797 ~The li eit withdraw fom

2 May 1797 usant I cafe a Commander

in Chet an Governor of St Daring by French ruler
Napoleon Bonaparte

November 1798 - Tr Gris ars wih Tous

October 1801 - Napoleon sends 20,000 tres to
St Damiegs under th command of Gerera acer o

February-March 1802 Around 5,00 French soles
are led nd 5,000 hospitals +

89. “orl 1802 ~Tousan send a tert Cares Lacer
5 May 2802 - Leckere sends eter to

6 May 1802 - Tour ds vitro nto te ety
ane 1802 - Lele sed a tert the Minister of
dane 1802 General Brant requ aeg

uly 1002 Beis eg elo inthe th nen in

24 August 1802 Ton Imprsoned nte Forte
26 September 1802 — Levee sn a leer io the First

3.6 Resitarce and vot

2 November 1802 Leer ies rom yellow fever

15 Janary 1803 - Rechamten send alter o he
Mare 1905 ~The misa are now in ret ist
agit 1803

16 November 1803 - Backs and mére under
Dsl stack Le Cap. Rocnambeaa decos to

28 Noter 1803 - Rechnen men

31 December 1803 A declaration of nsependence e

ter 1904 - Desa ae Hal Emporr Ha

January 1805 - A wes in Halt ar

© Estates wou be returned to Ia an families

Teed to anexos e te fom he ands

»

90. REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Read te pasage below thn arar

te the fos of eta ht were ori se
1b Online tre forms of slave resistance wich oth
(al = 25 mars)

References and recommended reading

ingen lala Pion
Monje E Th sterol fa Renny Se

there wer ther methods, which were ls extreme, ut

(otal = 25 mars)

3 Wat waste impact ofthe Haan Revolution on Hal
and wider Caribbean? (5 marks)

4 crtealn

(25 mares)

is D he Re Arico Sry in te Amarin, Casi: Cage

91. The metropolitan movement
towards emancipation

Wen, in the late 18th century British citizens and

regan taking action against the slave trade

that any society decided that enslaving other human

beings is morally wrong. From the time civilizacion

with the Sumerians more than 5,000 years

avery had been an established institution. It
«din Egypt, China, Europe, the Indus Vale,

South America and Persia, Some ofthese societies
had laws protecting slaves and religious texts which

sad that masters benefited spiritually from treating
their slaves kindly Some even had debates on what,
groups of people should or should n

avery lasted for over five millennia

influential people in any nation even suggested that
should no exist at all.

As
eid soddaniy became mar
because the British were inherently more

enlightened than other people. Instead, it was

because Britain had become so advanced

technologically that slavery was no longer needed

forts elites to havea high standard of living
Even so since slavery had been part ofthe word for

Tong its not surprising tha
trade and abolishing slavery sh

countered so many obstacles.

Since slavery was such a welestablished practice
and central o economic activity in the colonies, it
‘could not ave been abolished in one fl swoop.

Instead, hose who were working to stop the
‘enslavement of Affcans had to proceed in stages,
Indeed, dhe politician who became the best known
leader afthe aboltion movement, Wiliam
Wilberfore (se the biography box on page 94),
actual rejected in 1814 a suggestion that al enslaved
Aicans brought illegally into Bish territorios
should be reed, ‘Our object and our universal

tage was andi, to produce by abolion a
isposton to bred instead of ying he wrote.

In her words, at that point the goal vasto ge the
slave trade, not slavery itself eradicated by
persundingplaners to obtain more slaves though
reproduction, rather han by kidnapping aditonal
slaves from Africa, Even when in 1823 the

a

92. boltionists decided to focus on emancipation theirs Britain was the main save-owming nation by the

fein Parliament, Sr Thomas Buxton, urged 18h century and sine the main opponents ofthe
restant and patience, saying: Nothing ashy nothing slave trade were English, the first step was to get
rapid, nothing abrupt, nothing bearing any feature of the slave trade abolished in England,

violence? Shveryshe sid, would naturally decline as
the abolonists pursued thee publi education,
programme in Britain,

‘This occurred manly through the efforts of one man,
Grawille Sharp, junior clerk in the Ordinance
Office who came from family of Anglican clergymen,

lent) when he encountered a slave named Jonathan

Strong life and nursed him back o health, after
which Strong gota job with an apothecary: Then

pe cae re! en isomer master en Song ache ro sere

30. harp was able to get Strong feed and went to
court to get the English lw on slavery daified.

PERSECUTION § SLAVERY,
Friends § Fellow Countrymen,

Hct estes acy abe foes
iD E
isan hry de ea ere ans no
Piet gil ae ol D SAE al
Poe emai rd apie
ca Wes po on

93. Neither Strong's former master nor his next one in
Jamaica contested the case. In 1772, Sharp also
‘went to court to fre a slave named James Somerset,
who had escaped fiom an American named Charles
Stewart living in England. Somerset was reeapured
and put on boat for Jamaica, where he vas o be
sold, but Sharp was able to free him before the ship
sailed, Eventual; after several months of tral, the
English court under Judge Mansfield decided hat
there was no legal definition of slavery in England.

This decision made it legal to take a slave against
his wil back wo the lave colonies, soa slave could
walk away” from slavery by refusing to go back
and merging with the free black population in
England. The Mansfield judgment helped bolster
public opinion agains slavery, Influential figures
such as Dr Samuel Johnson, compiler of the fist
authoritative English dict

ary, became involved.

“Iti impossible not to conceive hat men in their
original state were equal...no man is by nature the
property of another [so] the defendant is by
nature free; Dr Johnson wrote in one essay

In 1775, prompted by Quakers, commission of
the House of Commons was appointed to take

evidence of the slave trade. In 1776, after the
report was submitted, David Hartley, Member of
Parliament for Hull,

roduced a debate
the slave trade is contrary tothe laws of God and
the rights of men’. This indicated a shift in
opinion among law makers, although the debate
did not lead to any change in legislation. In 1787,
the Quakers formed “The Society for Efectng,
the Abolition ofthe Slave Trade

This Society st up branches in Britain's large
‘owns, with town leaders organizing meetings
and getting petitions signed. This strategy was
very succesful, with 100 petitions going to
Parliament in the same year the Society was
formed and 500 petitions in 1792. Numerous
pamphlets were also written and distributed

throughout England. Producing and distributing
pamphlets in the 18th and 19th centuries can be
compared with sending e-mails today. Thomas
Clarkson wrote an essay enided ‘A Summary
View of the Slave Trade and the Probable
Consequences ofits Abolition’, which was
printed in pamphlet form and 15,000 copies were
distributed. The Reverend James Ramsay, who
had lived in the Caribbean for 19 yeas,
published in 1784 an Essay on the ‘Treatment
and Conversion ofthe African Slaves in the Sugar
Colonies, which was also widely read. Other
pamphlets highlighted cases oferult by British
Caribbean planters which had reached the courts.
The poet William Cowper wrote an anti-slavery
poem called “The Negro’s Complaint which was
widely read. Several thousand copies were
printed on high-quality paper for distribution to
‘upper-class women as a conversation piece, and
the words were also set to music

94. put forward to call on the British Parliament to
‘emancipate the saves at once, This caused conflict
between the two factions af the Society, one side
wanting more cautious and gradual approach,

the other insisting that what must be done was
best done quickly After heated discusion, the
motion was carried.

You should understand that the abolitionists tas De

campaign was not aimed ata popular audience in
sia re © Te Qualers were oe ofthe ew Christan ros

© wat te man message tat ne poet is io to

the modem meaning ofthat term, when campaigns © Ths dues wer on lhe few isin ans
are aimed at reaching a majority of people. Even if (nr odin De a pre
at were possible in Britain inthe 19th century ‘hey ha been perce or ht tre ons

ich a campaign would have een pointes and ‘ncomertiona Cristian paces
ineffective, since the ordinary person did not have © The rain Act of 1609 gave he Quatre eal
much social or political influence, Instead, the rotes an ered te wort lence ars then
eins vere tying to pecs the in Britain alte they were tl aba as à
aristocrats, Members of Parliament (MPs), the mage ri

wealthy and others who held important offices. © J Bardo, Quakers were often fed allowing

In 1830, ata meeting ofthe Society a motion was Norme,

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE
59-1033)
vano rom 1787 e he sisi to aban ae

aeons in 1780, eng with his 9008 friend from
Emancipation, and fom 1825 e ph te Com Laws

ted ain) an epesve messes
‘splot working ls publ emanations,

Corsi, which converted in ER In 1787,

of te Slave Trae e nds
ato, Grave Sar, Henn
came a vice president of the Society for Ihe Mitigation Commons in 1825. The Abolition Act was passed ene
2 Graal Atoltian a Slavery Throvaraut te rin mor ater hi est on 29 uy 1653.

Saved, Tring mere

95. The French Revolution, which erupted in 1780,
Had the slogan, “Liberty, Fraternity, Equality’

This was used by the abolitionists, while he
StDomingue Revolution (see Chapter 3) also kept
the conditions of enslaved Africans a a topic of

The abolitionists used the ‘population principle’ to
argue that St Domingue, now called Hat, was proof
ofthe rightness offrecdom. This argument basically
rested on the fact thatthe African population in the
slave colonies did not inerease except through
imports of more enslaved people whereas in Hit
the population had expanded bone ts 500,000
total in 1791. In 1823, when Buston was sll

arguing fr gradual emancipation, he told the Bish

Parlament that Hat enjoyed all the blessings
which freedom brings" In 1830, he specified
increased population asthe main blessing, noting
that, despite wars and emigration and cv violence,
Hat's population had increased from 423,000 in
1804 to 935,000 in 1881. These figures are too
precise to be ac

antboliiomits of doubling the true population
Figure of Haiti. However it do seem that there was
significant increas in popula
Barton also argued that there was a coreaion
between the endofsugar production and this
population increase in Haiti saying that twas the
Back breaking labour on the sugar plantations which
caused the high mortality rates among blacks in the
slay colonies As you wil seein Chapter 5, in the

and Buxton was accused by

min those 27 years

on sugar production, his assertion had some
empirical bass. The antraboltionist used this
same point to shift the debate from population to
economies, arguing that the lue of Haiti to
produce sugar alter the revolution showed hat ree
Iabour was not productive

During the Napoleonic war between France and
Britain and other European powers (see the

section “The French slave trade in this chapter),
the politician William Wilberforce had kept the

abolition issue alive in the British Parliament

movement tnards emancipation

The British government now took decisive action,
The Act of 1807 permitted seizure of pirates; and
bounties of £60 per male, £30 per female, and
£10 per child were tobe paid by the Admiralty to
naval oficers and other beneficiaries for every
slave liberated. The signs that indicated a

possible save ship were made clear tothe navy
Some ofthese included a ship being anchored
ofthe African coast with more supplies than
could be consumed by a crew of 30; having spare
planks in its hold, which could be used to make

a slave deck; having hatches with open gratings
instead of closed tops; and carrying shackles

and handeufs,

A British West Atica Squadron was established
to ensure that no British captain fom any port
traded slaves along 3,000 miles of the African const.

8

96. “Att, this squadeon consisted ofjust two ships,
‘which had 32 and 18 cannons respectively

1811 there were tree well armed ships, with
74 cannons between them. In that yea, 00, am

"update law made saving a felony punishable by
transport to Australia for 14 years

None of this impressed the other European powers,
however The French and Spanish ehought hat
abolition was just a ploy by the British to strengthen
their military control of these. The German writer
Goethe said

“Everybody knows [the English] declamations
against the slave trade; and, while they have
palmed offon us al sorts of human maxims as
the foundation of their proceedings, ts at lst
discovered that thei true motive isa practical
object... In their extensive domains on he west
coast of Africa, they themselves use the blacks,

and iis against their interest forthe blacks to

be carried off?

In act there were actually objections from some of
‘the Gold Coast rules when they learned that the
Brish government had stopped the slave trade,
because enslaved Aficans were now the main
source of weal for dhe West African slave-rading
Kingdoms of Dahomey, Bonny and Lagos,
accounting for three quarters of West Arcs
‘exports in the 18th century: The King of Bonny

reportedly told a British captain
‘We think this rade must goon. That the
verdict of our oracle and our priests. They say
that your country however great an never stop
a trade ordained by God himself?

However the effectiveness ofthe British measures
should not be overestimated. In March 1824,
Bill was passed in Parliament declaring that any
British subject trading slaves should be deemed
ul of “felony, piracy and robbery, and should
suffer death without benef of clergy and loss of
Hands, goods, and chattels’ No one was ever
prosecuted, though. Also, Britain could only
board the ships of enemy nation, which included

France and the USA, but the two largest slave
shippers at that time were Spain and Portugal.
Britain was not at war with ether of these

countries. Spain, ike Britain, was also fighting
France, and the British government had just
signed a most-avoured nation treaty with
Portugal, In this treaty, Portugal agreed with
Britain’ abolition aims, but Portugal, which had
started the Adantic slave trade, would become the
second:-to-last European nation to end slavery,

in 1869, Also, the seizures of ships carried out by
the British made itl impact on slave trafic at
first: the British boarded just 37 ships in 1825
and 14 in 1826, feeing less than 15,000 people

Even so, the British were moving faster to abolish
slavery than were Spain and France, a we will sce
in the following sections

The response from the planters

‘The Briish Caribbean sugar planers responded
quickly tothe campaign by the anti-slavery lobby.
‘They also printed pamphlets and distributed
them to MPs, several of whom owned their

seats to financial support rom the plantes or
‘who themscles owned plantations in the Caribbean

“The planters claimed that the slave trade saved
African lives, since many ofthe enslaved were
Sriminals who would have been executed. They
also argued thatthe sugar industry

for England' prosperity. They even used the
Bible, arguing thatthe Bible usted slavery and
that the African’ souls would be saved by
conversion to Christianity. Naturally they did not

vs essential

Highlight the fact that they had long been the main
‘opponents tothe teaching of Christianity to the
enslaved African

“The planters also tre to dicredit some ofthe more
prominent abolitionists. Wilberforce was 10 well
‘connected to powerful people to attack, but Reverend
James Ramsay was subject to vicious rumours
planted by the anti-aboionists, who created
stories about his supposed sexual depravity from his
(ine in the Caribbean. The ares was said to have
caused Ramsay's premature death in 1789,

97. Despite this, the Caribbean plantes realized that
their opponents were winning the bate, As a
result they started buying enslaved Africans at
inflated prices. Table 4.1 shows the rise and fll
in prices between 1793 and 1820, taking the
number 100 asthe average price of slaves before
1793. As you can see, prices reached ther peak
in 1807, chen started falling when the ban was in

place. I appears that, because of the British and
US abolition of the save trade, the trade became
less profitable

Average price = 100

4.6 The metropolitan movement tard emancipation

Spanish abolition
The war with France was not going well for
pain. Napoleon's armies had defeated the
Spanish soldiers in battle after bate and by
1811 the French controlled most of Spain
On March 26, the Spanish insurrectionists who
were bauling Napoleon's army passed a new
constitution which gave the Spanish colonists
more legal powers, This was because the
Spanish government needed its colonies in the
fight against France

The Deputy of Tlaxcala New Spain, José
Guridi y Alcócer who was also a priest, used
these new powers to present tothe Cortes of
Cádiz the first formal Spanish project fo the
abolition of slavery, which he argued was
contrary to natural la

However, the Deputy from Bogotá, though
agreeing thatthe abolition ofthe slave trade was
an ‘urgent necessity, said that slavery required.
more thought and the matter was deferred until
à new constitution was written and approved.

I scemed, however that Spanish officials had
become sensitive o the evils of slavery. On.

April 2, Deputy Agustín de Argilles proposed
condemnation of slave trade, saying ‘Spain
‘ought toe in line with Britain’ soit could ally
against Napoleon.

"These initiative, although they id not lead to
action, had Cuba's planters worried. On July 7,
they senta message tothe Corts asking the
government to tread cautiously on abolition of trade
“in order not to lose this important island. They
followed this up a week later with a 92-page
memorandum, including the statement: “The slaves
Have come and are here, to our misfortune; not by
our ral but by those who fist iniited and
encouraged this commerce in he name oflaw
and religion? ("Those was a reference t las Casas
‘who had argued tha the Africans should

replace the Amerindians for labour in the mines
and plantations)

98. e

Sil, the calls or he abolition the Spanish save
trade continued, A respected scolar, Francisco
de Arango, argued that Spain should sele its
constitution issues and give 20-year moratorium to
planters since Britain and the USA had done so.
‘On 23 November 1812, geographer Isidoro
Antllén proposed complete abolition ana few
days later he was atacked in the street by three
assailants and so badly injured that he died a year
later. tis not known if his attackers were in fact
pro-slaversbut that lobby had certain begu

se dirty polities, such as planting rumours that
Spanish abolitionists were als ofthe English

"The pro-slavery lobby was on the wrong side of
history, however In July 1815, in the Treaty of
Madrid with Britain, dhe Spanish government
agreed with Britain's position and promised to
ban Spanish subjects from supplying foreign
countries with slaves, Spain also agreed to
complete abolition in eight years. By 1818, the
England-Spanish treaty was signed, prohibiting all
Spanish subjects From engaging in the save trade
afer 30 May 1820, The cut-of date was later
extended to October 31. The British government
paid the Spanish government £400,000 in
‘compensation, The King of Spain used this
money to buy eight warships to goto South
America o recaptur former colonies. Cuba,
however refused to abide by the treaty.

1868, the pro-slavery Spanish monarchy was
replaced by a republican government which had
‘many anti-slavery activists in it ranks This new
government intended to eradicate slavery in the
Spanish colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and
vas assisted by the revolutionaries who were
fighting the colonial authorities in those islands
By 1880, the Spanish governm

‘emancipation plan. Unlike dhe Briish and French
plans, this was to be carried out in stages. Spain at
this time had over 200,000 enslaved people in its
colonies. Over the next five years, 90% ofthese
slaves were freed, and ll by 1886, Unlike the
British, dhe Spanish gave no compensation to he
former slave owners

ntstarted its

Spain was the last major colonial power to fee
Ale enslaved Africans finally doing so in 1886,
This delay was actully caused party by the
English and French emancipating their enslaved,
because the Spanish government expected that
sugar production in th British and French
Caribbean would collpse and Spanish colonies
would then rcap enormous profs from sugar
production. In act, many British businessmen
decided to take advantage ofthe expected profits
and started investing inthe Spanish colonies,
giving sugar producers money to buy modem
‘machinery and to build railways to reduce
transportation costs. As you will read in more
detail in Chapter 6, Cuba actall increased its
‘numberof slaves in the latter half of the 19th
century, even supplying slaves to the US and
European lave traders who continued to operate
despite laws against such trade passed in thie
own countries, Only the abolition of slavery in the
USA afer the American Civil War of 1865
undermined slavery in Cuba, since the Cubans
were dependent on that market

The French slave trade
falle major Western powers, the French

were the most reluctant to abolish the slave trade,
In 1791, the French Assembly had condemned the
slave trade and slavery, and in 1794 abolished
avery within France, This was because the
French Revolution in 1789 was based on the

ideals ofiberty, brotherhood and equality and
slavery was an embarrassing contradiction to these
watchwords. In 1802, however, Napoleon.

‘outraged the abolition movement when he allowed
the revival of slavery which had been in limbo.
during the Revolution. Napoleon planned to
‘expand France's overseas territories,

wanted to start with the recapture of St Domingue.
However, 13 years aer in an equally sudden
turnaround, Napoleon abolished the French slave
trade. He did dhis in the hope that he would win
British approval, since he had been ousted from.
power in 1814 by an alliance of Britain, Austria,
Russia and Prussia,

and he

99. November 1799 Napoleon was a

February 1800 — À new const, which loves
May 1002 Te French tole vote in fur ia

May 1803 — England ehr war on rane, oer
posesion of he ard of Malo

December 1004 At the erst of Napoleon, who
21 October 1005 — Atte Bate fra he
Franco Spain Pet was way deste he
1809 Spanish querias, supported by Bis woos,

1812 The rational Cortes as comen at Cit
sed mie bythe eas of the French Revolution

824 In te Tray of Chaumont of March 1834,

6 gr LA Faces with delet, Napoleon abate,

1 March 1815 wre government spero
18 Jure 1015 - napoleon was cet by he armies
fn Du o klingen a Bate of Water

22 une 1815 The Frnch arlanent forced
5 May 182 soon died in conte lad

100. 100

When Napoleon vas overthrown nether the French
King, Louis XVII, nor the Foreign Minister,

‘Talleyrand, was concerned about abolition, The

British thought hat he French's gratitude for
British help against Spain would cause them to join
the abolition movement, but the French government
as too busy dealing with he effects ofthe war to
pay any attention to social causes. However the
British anti-slavery movement sent 800 petitions
with 750,000 signatures, calling onthe British
‘government to persuade the French monarchy to
‘end the slave rade. At dhe same time, the French
‘government was receiving petitions from merchants
‘of Nantes and the Chamber of Commerce in
Guadeloupe calling for the slave trade tobe restored
‘The Bish government had more sway, however,
and on 30 May 1814 the Firs Treaty of Paris

was signed, with France agreeing to cooperate with
Britain to stamp out the save trade, The British
were not happy about the treaty though, because
specific terms ofagreement were not included, and
France's colonies taken during war were given ack
by the British. The abolitionists were also outraged
atthe five yea grace period before total abolition,

Every step forward in the battle against the slave

trade had caveats In February 1815 Brain, France
Spain, Sweden, Austria, Prssa, Russia and Portugal
all signed a declaration saying that since the
(commerce known by the name ofthe African save
trade is repugnant tothe principles of humanity and
universal morality’ vas “duty and necessity to

abolish ita sonas possible. A te same time the
declaration also said that no nation could abolish the
trade without due regard tothe interests the habits,
and even the prejudices ofits peoples,

In November, the Second Treaty of Paris was signed
by Britain, France, Austria, Prusia and Russia, ho
all pledged the ‘entire and definite’ abolition ofthe
slave trade which was so stongly condemned by

Jaws of religion and nature with no grace period
Deing granted.

French ship owners, who were already prepared to
salto fica because they thought they had five
more years to buy Afians, lobbied to be allowed

to cary ut these last voyages o re-stock the
colonies with slaves (inthe national interest

as they termed it), The French government
was divided on the mater (Napoleon's defeat at
Waterloo was sill wo months away). Then the

British navy seized thre French ships suspected
of being slave ships, causing anger in France

and hardening opposition tothe British In 1816,
36 ships were allowed to leave France to buy slaves
in West Africa stopping atthe Cape Verde islands
then sling to Angola, Madagascar and Zanzibar.

Not until 1817 was further action against the
slave trade taken, when the Duke of Richelieu
announced that any slave ship found in French
colonies would be confiscated and the captain
banned permanently from command. It must be
noted, though, that this statement did not ba
bringing slaves to France itself or transporting
em to non-French colonies. So, in fc, the
ave trade to Cuba and other countries
increased. In March 1818, France finally
declared the trade illegal. This sil did not
completely stop the trafic. It only made slave
traders more cautious. The number of slave ships

Between 1818 and 1831 there were about 500
slaving expeditions from France, These voyages
‘earned an average profit of 180,000 to 200,000
Francs, which was more than lave traders made in
the 18th century. In 1820, there were reports of

25 0 30 slave ships fying a French flag off the coast
Of Africa in the ist six months alone, However, by
1893 a shift had occurred. There were signs of

decline in the numberof shave ships and public

101. opinion in France appeared to be also tuming,
against slavery, as indicated by the publication of

several acclaimed novels with black heros. From,

1825, te French government finally began backing
words with money, with erewsin the French navy
being given 100 francs for every slave fred, Aer
1830, law was passed to make the penalties or
slave wading more severe - the traders would be

classified as criminals, which meant they could be

jale for two to five years if they were caught in

French waters and 10 to 20 years ifapprehended

on the high seas. In 1844 an organization of

workers in Paris sena petition to the French

government calling fr the immediate abolition

of slavery French sol cannot support slavery

any longer’ they sid. These measures seemed
hae worked - between 1832 and 1850, just

20 ships sled fom France to Afia to buy slave,

In those years the French government went farther
ward emancipation. It removed a tax which any
‘owner who wished t free an enslaved person had
to pays and made it illegal to brand a slave. In 1833,
“law was passed giving those of mixed-race the
same rights ax whites, and every black person who
‘et foot in France was automaticaly fre. Atempis
‘were made by the government to encourage
‘education and mariage among the enslaved
Afrcans. A new law also required planters to record
all punishments meted out to slaves, with
‘magistrates given the responsibility to inspect
plantations in order to report abuse of saves.
In 1840, the French governme

showed it
intended to emancipateall haves when it set up a
‘Commission of Enquiry into slavery, which had a
date to recommend measures to achieve this
goal. The commission submitted its report in 1845,

outining two strategies. The fist recommended
fall emancipation after 10 years along with

compensation fr the slave owners. The second.
recommended emancipation in stages, starting with
children, en skilled slaves, then domesti slaves
and then field slaves.

The main personality inthe French abolitionist
‘movement was named Victor Schoelche. Like

4.68 The mar

Clarkson and Wilberforce, he was a orcefil speaker
anda prolife write of pamphlets He had frst

hand knowledge of slave colonies, having travelled
throughout the French Caribbean, as wellas o
Cuba and the USA. Having succesflly brought
the slavery question into he consciousness of
French citizens, Schoelcher in 1847 presented the
legislature with 16 points against slavery. These
were some ofthe points.

9 Property of man in man is crime

(© The vices of slavery can only be destroyed by
abolishing slavery tel

© Allnotions ofjustice and humanity ae lost ina
slave soi

© There isan annual excess ofbirths over deaths
ina lave population

© Thehonour ofFrance is compromised by
tinkering with a dying institution.

© tis more cosy o maint

slavery than to

abolish it

© By virtue ofthe solidarity which binds all
members of
responsible fort

tion, cach ofus is partly

mes engendered by slavery
Notall of Schoelcher’s points were completely
factual. For example, he claimed tha British
‘emancipation ha had "atisfactoy moral and
material results and thatthe lave owners had
accepted emancipation as the right course.
However, he was interested in effective propaganda
rather than making a purely intellectual argument
In 1848, there was a revolution in France and the
government was overthrown. Schoelcher was
appointed Under Secretary of State in the Navy
with auhority overall French Caribbean colonies.
He now had the power to cary out his ideas.

He was made president ofa commission with
responsibility for drafing emancipation legislation,
His eventual report insisted hat slavery vs mo
longer practical fom an economic viewpoint and
that emancipation was morally corectas well as
hes forthe colonies,

‘The French Emancipation Act was eventually
passed in 1848, granting fll freedom wall,
enslaved Aficans

101

102. 102

Timeline
© 1787—The USA sid woul en is sive ase
© 1768 Bil was pate in he Brith Parlament
oe
6 178 - Denmark tt ek of 1602 fr he

©1793 rain was at war ith rane Tis meat
0 1808 In tal Ab

(© 1806 ~The Brish Prime Mier Cartes James
© 1007 (March 25) - e 8

© 1007 (Apri 20) ~The at ga ave trader

Amelioration proposals
British amelioration

“The abolionists had alo begun implementing the
second phase of their plan. Amelioration, asthe word
implies, was an attempt to improve the conditions of
the enslaved Africans, as de abolitionists worked
towarlecing them completly

At first the planters strongly resisted all such
attempts, based on the concept that ou give
ca yard

someone an inch, hat person will

n 1816, Jamaica had already passed the
‘onslidated Slave Law. This mandated that saves
should have Sunday off wok, as wellas one other
day every fortnight todo thie own planting, They
‘were to have at least 26 days off work every yer

and not made to mill ene between 7 pm on
Saturday and 5 am on Monday. Their work day
‘was als to be no longer than 3 am 107 pm, with

30 minutes for breakfast and a two-hour lunch
break. This, however all meant a 12-hour work
day, six days a week, How strictly the nw law was
enforced is not certain,

In18
new organization, called the Society for the
Gradual Abolition of Slavery. Their plan was to
‘campaign for an immediate improvement inthe
‘conditions of enslaved Africans and then o get
slavery completely abolished. By now
‘experienced from their campaign against the
slave trade, the abolitionists were able 1 set up
‘over 200 branches of the new society in a yar
By then, ad received 750 petitions
calling forthe abolition of slavery so the MPs
knew that significant numberof votes
depended on what position they took on the

3, the British abolitionists formed a

slavery question.
“The British Caribbean planters soon realized
that public opinion was not on their sde, and
that they might also lose the support of MPs

103. ifand when anti-slavery legislation came to

Parliament. So they changed strategy and

Parliament

decided to propose amelioration t
themselves, Ther representatives in London sent
their policy suggestions to the Colonial Secretary,
who accepted them and forwarded a despatch to
the legislative assemblies ofthe sel- governing
colonies. In Crown Colonies, where asthe tte
suggests the Crown ruled more directly

through its appointed governor and a council

of nominated members loyal tothe British
government, the policy was simply implemented
hy an order,

These were some ofthe proposals made

© No slave women should be whipped.

A male slave who was to be whipped should be

sven one day's notice before the punishment

was administered,

© All loggings which exceeded three strokes
‘were tobe recorded by estat officals and
the records submitted every three months to
a magistrate.

© Slave families were not tobe split up by traders
selling family members o different owners,

© Slaves could not be old to pay off debi,

© Planters were no longer to frustrate or prevent
the missionaries or other clergy from preaching
to the slaves, so the Aficans could be converted

© Slaves should have legal right wo give evidence

cout once sponsored by a member of the

erg

Many ofthese same proposals had been made
before by the British government at the end of the
18th century, but the planters had ignored them
even when they became law. Now although the
amelioration proposals had been made by wealthy
absentee planters living in England, he planter
assemblies in Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica and
St Vincent resisted the policy. They agreed to put
into law just some ofthe proposals. They refused
outright to let any enslaved person testify in court

and they made the tae

of Christianity to
slaves subject to so many regulations that
would have been virtual impossible for
missionary to do so. For example, the Jamaica

assembly forbid any missionary from collecting

a fee from the enslaved Africans for religious
instruction, on the bass that, "Under pretence of
ferings and contributions, lage sums of money
have been extorted by designing men professing
10 be leaders of religion? No services were
allowed between sunset and sunrise eventhough
the slaves worked for most ofthe daylight hours
Enslaved African who were discovered

preaching without their owners’ permission
could be flogged,

However, these regulations were rejected by the
British government. The Colonial Secretary ina
strongly worded despatch tothe Governor of
Jamaica, ic

41 cannot too disney impress upon you that itis
the settled purpose of His Majesty's Government
¿o sanction no colonial law which needlessly
infringes onthe religious liber of any clas of His

Majesty's subjects”

“The planters, however, defiantly re-enacted the
Jaw and set up a committee to investigate the
activites of missionaries, Members ofthis

tee harassed various missionary groups
and then wrote a report in which they accused
missionaries of causing unvest inthe colony and
tricking people into giving them money. This

port was sent tothe British government, which
ignored i. The report caused a backlash, however,
because it stated a rumour among the enslaved
Africans that they had been freed by the British
government but the planters were hiding the
document. When slave revlt erupted in Jamaica
afer 25 December 1831, the planters, apparently
believing their own propaganda, arrested several
missionaries and put them on tal. They also
destroyed several of their church buildings

103

104. 104

Yet the missionaries fa from causing the
‘uprising, had actualy tried to stop it. One

preacher, William Knibb, tried to prevent his
‘congregation of saves from joining the rebellion,
telling them that there was no truth o the rumour
that they had been fred by the King of England,

‘This violence against missionaries in Jamaica and
‘other colonies fuer lowered public opinion in
England against the Caribbean planers and thei
representatives. This was because the Now:
Conformist churches, who sent out most ofthese
missionaries o the colonies, also had a significant
membership in England. The British congregations
made contributions othe missionaries’ work in the
Caribbean and saw the preaching of Cristanity to
the Aficansas a divine obligation which they should
support, People who had not heen moved by the
issue of slavery were now outraged at the treatment
ofthe missionaries It as ironic that amelioration
had been proposed by absente owners representing
the West Indies in London, and the planters in the
colonies seutled the proposals

In 1831, the Society forthe Gradual Aboitio
of laery stepped up it
had already won over publi opinion, but this did
mot necessarily mean that Parliament would pass a
law abolishing slavery The Society realized that,
what was needed were new MPs who would be
prepared to support such legislation. In England,
‘hanks in large part to the Industrial Revolution, a
new class of poserfil men had been created
Previously, landowners were the wealthiest
individuals and made up the ruling dass. Part of
(her power layin the lw which allowed only
property owners to vote, Some MPs had even
fained their positions in Parliament through what
were called rouen boroughs’. These were areas
‘where few people lived, but where a property
‘owner had the right to appoint an MP. Several
wealthy planters had returned to iv in England,
purchased such boroughs and appointed an MP or
become one themselves, in order o safeguard their
interest in respect to sugar and other trade avs.

slavery campaign, It

Now, though, there were people who had become
i influential as he landowners

mufacturing and trade, These

individuals opposed the landoveners, not least

because they wanted a different set of laws which
‘would help their businesses. The planters, for
‘example, wanted their MPs o pass laws which
gave British colonies preferred access to the
British market, whereas the businessmen wanted
to be free to trade with other countries, since this

meant cheaper goods to buy and sll and more
profits for them. The 1830 election in Briain
brought in a majority of members who were
prepared to vote against slavery. MPS for 85 ofthe
‘rotten boroughs’ were removed and replaced by
seatsin the industrial towns, such as Manchester
Shefieldand Leeds. The vote was also given to
tovwnsmen who paid at least £10 in rent annual
"This meant that factory owners and merchants
could now vote, and since these people had
supported the abolition of slavery, MPs had to pay
attention to their wishes.

"The Society pressed its advantage, hiring six
lecturers, as wel asa panel of effective speakers,
to go around the country giving talks on why
slavery should be abolished. In the 1832 election,
the Society persuaded many of the candidates to
support abolition, The fist Reform Act was
passed in that year. The planters had now

‘effectively los politcal power. They had not
adhered tothe amelioration proposals made by
their own colleagues in London. They could
not lobby the new MPS in Parliament, who
represented industrialists. The public was
against them on the issue of slavery, and even
‘economically, since sugar from the British
colonies was more expensive than sugar fom
‘Cuba, Brasil or Mauritius. In the spring of 1833,
the Society repeated its petition campaign,
setting over 1.3 million signatures, whi

number ofit local branches increased o 1,900.

A Bill to abolish slavery was brought to
Parliament in May 1833,

105. "The debate over the Bill lasted over three months,
withthe sesion becoming one of the longet in the

British Parliaments history. The Bil had four

1 Allslaves were to be feed at the same time
2 Most ofthe former slaves were to become
apprentices’ who would have to work for their

former masters for fixed number of hours per
day fora specified number of years

$ “The slave ovmers were toe paid a monetary
sum as compensation for the loss of thee saves.

4 The money for this payment was to come from
raising the duties on sugar rom the colonies

Interesting even the MPs who argued against the
motion did not bring up the issue ofrace This was
in stark contrast to the same debate in 1833, when
the Prime Minister George Canning had described
black people a being wih he form and strength

aman but with the intellet only of child? Both the

pro-and ant-aboiionits agreed that blacks and
whites had the same motiatons and attrbutes. In
debates among legislators in the USA, Acan’s
backwardness and their vag nature was usual
raised by pro-slavery speakers. In Brain, by
‘contrast, rice vas dimised evn in the publi
debate outside Parlament. The Tory Morning
Herald newspaper for example, argued ains he
‘supposed racial inferiority ofthe nero’ il the
Westminster Review described idas of racial
superiority and inferiority as absurd arguments
Also while dhe Colonial Offices plans forthe feed
blacks might have been oppressive as you will read
in Chapter 5, thee rationale didn't invoke any
stereotypes of race. Where race entered the debate it

was in terms of characteristics, The Toy leader
Robert Pel, fr instance, spoke of the distinction of
colour, hastening to add that he was not referring to
“ny inferiority of black to whit

factor that would create problems in amalgamating
the slave population withthe re, which did not

ut was not a

42 Te mar

exist citherin any country of Europe orn any
country ofthe East where slivery was extinguished?

The Emancipation Act was passed in Parlament in
August 1835.

French amelioration

Unie the British movement, the amelioration

measures in the French colonies were driven ess hy
public opinion and more by political concems, There
were slave rebelions in Marúiique in 1822, 1824 and

1833 and given what had occurred in St Domingue,
the French goverament decided to ty a policy of
aamdioation. The tax on manumissions was repealed
in 1832, and the procures were also simplified,
‘making teaser for lacks to buy thei freedom. In
1833, the French government passed law making i
compulsory to register slaves and, perhaps
remembering the St Domingue planter Le Jeune,
banned any mutation and branding.

In 1834, which was the same year thatthe British
introduced their apprenticeship proposal, French
abolition group formed, the ‘Société Française pour
abolition de Pescavag This marked a tuning
point in public opinion andin 1836 slavery was
‘outlawed in France (hough notin the colonies),

By 1840, the Société was able t get legislation
introduced in the French Assembly to abolish
slavery The la was not passed, but eight years ter

the French Emancipation Act was finaly procaimed.

“The planters had unintentionally helped bring this
about because by displaying their lack of humane

Feelings toward the enslaved Africans, they made it
apparent that ony fill abolition could improve the
lotof black people in the Caribbean,

105

106. 106

Social, economic and political factors
leading to abo
Rica change Kappen Ina society hero ore only
‘many reasons for it Slavery was abolished because
people wanted it socal factors) because there were
now better ways to make money (economic factor)

and because the leader in society gained more
‘power by stopping slavery (political Factors.

‘Very fie, all these factors are interconnected. The
‘economic reasons influence the socal values, the
social movements shape the politcal arguments and
the poltcans are motivated by economic reasons

Social factors

In the previous section, on the abolition ofthe
slave trade, you learned about the condemnation of

slavery by the Quakers and by individuals who
argued by word and deed that slavery was
inmoral. The abolition movement had many
influential people lading it, such asthe politic
William Pit the Younger, he writer Edmund
Burke and the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. By
spreading their message through speeches, writing,
pamphlets and books, and persuading powerful
people that their cause vas just, the abolitionists
succeeded in creating widespread opposition to
slavery. The philanthropist Josiah Wedgwood
produced thousands of anti-slavery badges witha
black figure and a moto saying, ‘Am I not a man
anda brother?

Inthe city of Manchester 11,000 people signed
patton calling for an end tothe slave trade,
So politicians had to take action for

hey had not,
they might have become very unpopular and ost
their positions. All thi represented a change in
values among British citizens or at least those

who were tra and therefore more influential

in the society: Why vas Britain the fist European
country to engage in this debate for change?

Felis

One significan actor was
England had been the fis nation in Europe to
abolish feudalisn

landowners had nearly total rights over the
‘peasants who occupied the land, The lord
allowed the peasant to oceupy his land in return

for tribute, which may have been in the form of
produce or coin or for military service when the
Tord went to war. This was essentially a slave

system, so its end in the th

Englishmen were more open to arguments about
freedom than other Europeans, where feudalism
continued as late as the 19th century in some
countries. Another factor related o England's
progressive values was that the nation had formed
its own Church, when Henry VII created the

107. Anglican Church in order to break away from the
Roman Catholic Church when the Pope refused

to continue giving him m
the rise of other Non-Conformist Christian

age annulments, With

churches, thas been argued thatthe English were
more open to ideas which opposed the status quo

Political factors

Politicians both then and now; need money to win

lectins. Even before the 19th century as you have
read earlier inthis chapter, many wealthy sugar
planters had retired vo England and purchased
posts in Parlament by buying up‘otten boroughs
(a borough was a town which sent representatives to
Parlament) at sums ranging from £3,000 to 24000.
Ac the same time, popalariy alone does not
guarantee politcal power. Under the British system
‘of government, this let planters become, or

influence, MPs in the House of Commons. In one
day in 1661, King Charles If made 13 plantation
‘owners from Barbados into baronets, which gave
them politica influence in Briain, As MPs, the

antes or ther representatives were able to vote
gust laws which threatened their profit, such as
along topar of get fora no Beal los

‘or the abolition of avery. fact, it was party
because the British goverment needed the votes
of MPs who were controlled by West Indian slave
owners that abolition did not happen sooner.

However, the Industrial Revolution had also
made factory owners and merchants rich, and so
their influence on politicians was growing,
Additionally, the West Indian planters were
‘opposed by another group which also made

profits from sugar. The East India Company
(EIC) was producing sugar in India with hired,
ot slave, labour by 17

“The company began a
propaganda war against dhe West Indian sugar
producers distributing sugar bowls which had

n on their sides “East India sugar not made

AG The mevepoltan moeent teaser

by slaves,

spreading the claim that a West
Indian slave's fe cost 450 pounds of sugar

‘A family that uses 5 pounds of sugar a week will
Killa slave every 21 months) said the company
in its pamphlets. You should not assume,
however, tha the people who owned and ran the

IC were humanitarias, Three ofthe most
powerful opponents of abolition were actually

board members ofthe EIC. Their sugar cost 140

shillings per hundredweight whereas West Indian

sugar which cost 70 to 80 shillings per
iedweight, 0 the EIC needed to give

umers a moral reason to buy its much more
expensive product. The company’s tactic was to
make British ctiens feel guilty about using West
Indies sugar in their ta. I seems thatthe EIC.
was success, since the amount of sugar
produced in East India and sold in England
increased 28 times between 1791 and 1833.

DE you bow?

(5) an pee 0) ut correr vas à

pound) ios

nthe cecal sem Th ba uk el Gora
ul name Is pounds sterling The term pound orinates
Silver known as string silver. Stering sie san alay

International polities in his cate rivalry
between European nations ~also played a part
bringing about the abolition of slavery. When
Britain stopped ther slave trade in 1807, they
then became concerned about stopping the trade
by other nations. This was party because the
British Caribbean was no longer getting new
enslaved Afticans to labour on its plantations,
while the colonies ofthe other European powers
continued to do so, A memorandum written in

107

108. 108

1818 by the abolitionist James Stephen
warned that

Reconquest of Hai would mean re

of England are thus to lose their commerce, their
‘money. and their benevolent hopes by the moral
apostasy of France and her breach of solemn
engagements, they may not add tit the loss of
their temper; and whether, at some point at some

not far distant crisis, the peace of Europe may not

be broken onthe slave coast

Stephen was arguing that, if Britain's prosperity
‘was harmed because it had abolished the save

trade while other nations had not, thi might lead
to war. may well have been his concer, along

with ts commitment to humanitarian principles,
which led to the British government offering

3 million o France in return for a promis to
end the slave trade,

Ironically it was this situation that led to dhe British
planters themselves calling foran end to the slave
trade. When the West India Interest (a group of
sugar planters who had become wealthy from their
Caribbean holdings and retumed to live in
England) met in London in 1830 over his
question, they called on the government

that have hitherto been employed, to stop the
foreign slave trade, on the effectual suppression
of which the prosperity ofthe British West

them, ultimately depend”

Note hat the planters were actually claiming that
ending the slave trade was essential ifthe situation
ofthe enslaved Africans on their plantations was to
improve. The planters alo attempted to distinguish
between sugar grown by slaves and that grown by
free labourers, arguing that ifthe slaves were
‘emancipated in he British colonies then the sugar
produced by the former slaves should be given
protected status in the British market

Economic factors
This brings us to the economic argument for
abolition. The price difference between Indian
sugar and Caribbean sugar suggests that Adam
Smith was wrong when he argued that he work
done by freemen comes cheaper in the end than
that performed by slave This may be true for
‘manufactured items, but or raw sugar it seems that
slave labour was more efficent than paid labour.
(Efficient here means ony that de costs of
production were les.) Even f the enslaved Aficans
were unwilling to work, the hreas of whipping and
‘other punishments ensure that they did work
quite hard, since overwork was one ofthe reasons
forthe high death rates cited by the BIC,

‘The fist historian o argue that slavery in the
New World was abolished because it was no

longer profitable was Erie Williams, in his book
Capitalism and Slavery, writen in 1944. Wiliams
was also the fist Prime Minister of Trinidad and
Tobago (see Chapter 8). Williams wrote that slave
traders often made between 20% and 30% profits on
their sugar cargoes. By 1800, profit were dechning,
dropping from £18 per hundredweight in 1803 40
zero in 1807. Plantations also began to close with

65 being abandoned in Jamaica between 1799 and
1807, and another 32 sold because of debts

y cofre 15d century he West Indies
provided between S%and 10% of England total
income, However, England also had to spend money to
«eam these profits, with costs such as maintaining 19
warships and been tree and seven regiments of
soldiers inthe Caribbean, West Indian sugar was also
more expensive than sugar produced fom other areas,
so the Bish government was actually losing money by
on allowing West Indian sugar to be sll in England.
This pls the cost of maintaining many strength in
‘he Caribbean, tal cost mote than the 8-10%%
profi came back tothe British goverment.

On the other hand, a broader look at the figures
show that overall profits from Britain's colonial

the ist part of the 19th
century From I 6, these profs totalled
almost £16 million whereas from 1784 10 1786
profits were just 5.6 milion

109. However, this was alo the period when the
Industrial Revolution was accelerating in Britain,

os au

Synopsis ofthe Industrial Revolution

© The nus Revoitn can be at fom te
cond hal of he 1th century, eas the mt
‘moortan event nthe modem war beaut o
‘he furan for tecnologica! rare.

© Tests were the deg fre of te Ins
Reiten wit he metio o maine uh 8
the yn stl in 739, he sng Jen In 1769,
ine cotton an 11793 an the seating mule in
1620 awl at many oar nations Before nes
evict wre vere took 18 ours of oe workers
tie to change a pour o cotton no cab te
1850s bs ask tok st 14 hours ol a werke Um.

© Te techno repress brava by he Indust.
Rel resus ina higher standard ing or
poplin Bra han other European counties

If dhe New World had not been supplying raw
materials forthe Industral Revolution, the
economie transformation in Britain might not
have happened so rapidly, hence eating a new
class of entrepreneurs who were able to oppose
the sugar plantation owners. It was not
coincidental that the majority of supporters in the
anti-slavery baıle were located in Britain’ main
industrial centres: Manchester, Birmingham and
Sheffield, Table 4.2 shows that Britain was more
advanced than France and Spain inthe early 19h

century, because the former had more people
living in cites than the latter,

Country Year Urban Agriculture 1820 GDP (1990
international $)
rain | a 0 (SK) an

Look a Table 4.2 Ale the

The industrialists wanted their workers o have
cheap food, including stimulant such sta, coffee
and sugar s they would have energy to work long
hours in the factory. While sugar had originally
"been a luxury for the rich, consumption increased
five-fold during the 19h century and the British
wanted their sweet tooth satisfied forthe cheapest
possible price. Removing the preferential treatment
for sugar bought exclusively rom the British
colonies would lower prices

Shipping companies also joined the sde ofthe
anıkaboliionist, This was a turnaround on thee
part, sine slavery made great profits for ship builders
and shipping companies during the slave trade. They
were losing money because the sugar planters
products hada protected market in Britain, Laws
prevented shipping companies rom transporting
goods fiom other European 1833, the
Brazilian Association of Liverpool (Liverpool had
Pen the main centre for slave traders in Britain in the
18th century) argued that more than £2 million was
losttothe British economy dueto these protectionist
polices as foreign ships and foreign companies got
Profits rom cargo fight charges, als commissions
and so on. Liverpool's economy was stil based on
slavery except now it centred on cotton produced by
‘enslaved African in the USA, rather than sugar
produced in the Caribe

Sugar refiners were another important business
group supporting abolition. Again, her main
‘motive was not moral, but financial In both Britain
and France, refiners wanted raw sugar atthe lowest
possible price for processing You wll ad more
bout sugar refining in Chapter 5. As he law only

109

110. mo

allowed refiners to uy from thie government
respective colonies, neither the French nor the
British sugar refiners could get enough of the raw
product at the lowest price to supply their

customers at the best profits with the shipping
interests, this too was a change in position, since the
refiners had supported protectionism when it had
‘meant higher profits for them.

‘The voices ofthese various business groups helped
bring about the abolition of slavery by Brita

French economic factors
In France, the economic factors which led to
abolition were somewhat different. We have shown,
"how the Industrial Revolution in Britain was an
important part ofthe emancipation of enslaved
Afticans. This process started in Britain inthe

later halfof the 18th century: In France, however,
the Industrial Revolution did not take off ntl the
middle of the 19th century. There were several
reasons fortis. One reason was the Fren
Revolution in 1789, which disrupted the
scientific intellectual and political
Another reason, perhaps more signifi
that Frances iron industry was not as advanced as
Britsin’s economically or technologically. Britain
had more coal reserves than France, and so had
cheaper energy: which allowed Britain to produce
more manufactured goods at lower cost. The iron
smelting technology that allowed France to catch
‘up with Britain was not invented until furnace
designs were improved by 1850, and even then
those designs were invented in Britain,

Another relevant economic factorin France was the
development of cet sugar By 1813, France had set
up 334 factories producing 4,000 tons of bet sugar
2 year By 1826, France had 1,900 factories
producing 24,000 tons ofsugar a year. By 1835,
French beet sugar producers could meet the entire
demand for sugar in that nation and produce extra

sugar for export. This meant that cane sugar
produced inthe colonies was now less proftable in
general, and could not even be sol in France,
except under a protected market, which made it
more expensive forthe French t buy. From the
1830s, too, sugar production in the French
Caribbean started to go down. Between 1836 and
1848, sugar production in Martinique dropped by
more than half (rom 25 million kgs per year to

12 milion kgs), In Guadeloupe, went down by neatly
«wo thirds (om 35 milion kg to 12 millon kg)

This inevitably resulted in political conflict between
beet sugar producers and cane sugar producers
Both sides asked the French government fr tax
concessions, Spokesmen forthe beet sugar

‘manufacturers asked why the domestic market of
33 million French people should be put behind a
colonial market of 113,000 consumers and 286,000
slaves. Even s, the French government eventually
decided tha it was more important to protect its
colonies than French beet sugar prodicers, and in
1839 imposed a tax on them which added a cost of
10 fancs for every 100 kgs of sugar. However, the
production process for beet sugar was so much

ore technologically advanced han sugar cane
production tht even wit this tax the beet sugar
prodcers were sil able to undesel their
colonial competitors, Sugar prices fll so low
because ooo much sugar on the market hat
several sugar plantations in Martinique and
Guadeloupe collapsed.

The Emancipation Act
‘Once the British government had decided to free
the enslaved Aficans its members wanted to
ensure thatthe colonies business would not be
dlsruptd by this social revolution. So, the main
concerns ofthe Emancipation Acta stated in is
very title, were o:

© ensure that the former saves had the protection
“ofthe law

© ensure that there would bea transition period
between slavery and ul Freedom

© placate the planters whose business would be
<isrupted by these changes,

111. These points were justified in he opening use of the
Act which tated dat it as Just and expedient that
the persons who were now saved should be reed,
that a ‘reasonable compensation’ should be given,
to lav oumen fr thei being deprived ofthe services
‘ofthe red persons and tata ‘necesary tne’ for
adjustment tothe ne ss would be given. Since the
language ofthe Ati inthe ol formal English of that
time, we have included an explanation inboxes,

‘An at forthe Abi of Slavery raus ne Bish
Colles: fr promeling the Industry of te manutd
Sates and or compensan he Pesos hier
tries tothe Series a such Saves

u
w >

suture of Coons Pr

Marner forsale become attached to e So

x

thie Ladin, Mes, Mes
er Malorne ard gy

m

112. 1

Cen te we ach apretó Laure may
Belong an Que required to spy oad for
ary Save bring ofthe some Age and Ser a sich
[peered Labourer sal bead In ass

wih te Foo fay sch panda apprenticed

i Quantity and Quality for his or her Sport, and
within à esosble dance liso e al
Tin drag ich or she maybe regard fo

ds aferra, in de Senco uch ser

Auch Grodan forthe rang and curo the

Crops thereon ro.

it 04 clon, seer an mere I eos

a

Council and Asemb or ater Clenial
any sah et rancor Order in Case to
‘of he Peace olin such Special Commissions as
for any Offence by him or er commited or alee

KI That iter under he Provo hi Ae
Asser, Ordrarc, or Order in Council sal any
to labour on Sundays except In Works of Neesiy

Sunday sal bea est yard o open
XXIV And whereas, towards compensating the Persons

a reset ete tothe Serves of te Sist

dutta and loyal Subjects the Commans of Great

Dominica, Barbodors Grenada, Saint Vincent,
Tobago Saint Lct Traded, Brith Gunes, te

LX Arter some e Clee ares
‘certain State made inte Tirer and
Fear er of King Charest Second,
(ua andes efg o alto Ot,

113. atan aer Statute made ne Sven
Charest Se ules An

has een argued that he Emancipation Act was
afin that i gave monetary compensation 1 the
planers, but none to the enslaved Af

years of unpaid labour Ths is undoubtedly tru,
but at the sume ime the fat of freedom alone was so
ganic a step that making payments to the former
slaves vas politically unrelisi. I may be worth
noting that, ofthe 66 clauses ofthe Emancipation
Act, 20 are concemed with laws to protect the

former slaves while just 16 deal with compensation

‘The metopltan movie tar easton

0910 Reis Meri
eye, sal e aser ele tbe fre
ly a effectual as ch Clones ha ee

‘oases

‘laws bang Quakrı a ter Non
Conteris regis rs are repealed

to the plantation owners. Clause XVII for example,
made legal fr anyone except a Justice ofthe
Peace to punish any apprenticed labourer ‘by the
‘whipping, beating, or imprisonment of his or her
person" à clause which shows how well he British
government knew the habits ofthe former lave
‘owners. Clauses XXI and LXI were intended to
ensure thatthe planters did not prevent the former
slaves from receiving rigousinsriction,as had.
been the case during laver

us

114. na

[tis cme iron that is was he masters and not the
slaves who were avarded compensation, The Act
provided £20 milion in compensation tthe
plantaion owners. However other historians put the
value of British Caribbean property at £130 million,
In either case, £20 million was a huge sum, since
this was 40% of the governments annual revenue,
The implementation ofthe Act was to encounter
problems because of one aspect the six-year

apprenticeship period,

The apprenticeship system

‘ims o apprenticeship

© ive mem tne to lar nabs of nasty

© alow une fr sl changes to faite re

© provide stir me fr te estamento
fre soe -

© oe he planters et trot naquit,

Structure of apprenticeship
© None slaves were tote are

ren under the ap of in years were red

© Stpendary magistrats were opone bythe
Crs protect te freee Africas apart

»

«

© sl acre
© Fond ana

‘Supervision o apprenticeship

© 200 spencay mas
© Inthe colonies weh had representative
{he Crom ht asp ane

E

algu on e ne)

Problems with the apprenticeship system
The ile ofthe Emancipation Act sid thatthe
apprenticeship system was intended to ‘promote
the industry" ofthe reed Africans There is
evidence of the racist stereotyping ofthe day here
asthe implication is thatthe Aficans would
‘otherwise spend their newfound freedom lazing
about ‘eating watermelons’. twas also intended to
‘ensure hat the planters themselves did not

suddenly have to work hard, sine Clause I stated
that they were ented tothe ex slaves" services a a
ave ax if this Act had not been made’

lt vas almost inevitable that there were going to be
cblems, although the true horrors of
y could not have been

issues and p
the apprenticeship sy

115. anticipated. As soon asthe Emancipation Act was
proclaimed, rumours started among the blacks that
the British government had ended slavery but the
planers were pretending that blacks had to

Continue working as slaves for another six years.

Even when they were assured that his was not the
case by whites they tasted (in particular the
ipendiary magistrates), they were quite naturally
resentfl that they had to take orders rom their

In St Kits, many ofthe freed Alcan refused to go
ack to thee plantations and the militia were called
cut to drive them back, In Guyana, here were
protests aginst the Apprenticeship claus, with the
people demanding immediate and fll freedom,
Similar action in Jamaica resulted in military action,
with the ringleaders red and sentenced to be
‘whipped in publi

‘The planters in their turn, ofen tied to break or
bend the new laws particularly

contemporary report notes the following abuses.

© Enslaved Aficans were reclassified by the
planters from non-praedal to praca, so they
‘would be forced to work in the fields, and do so
for ix years instead of four.

(© There was no proper registration ofthe slaves,
so the stipendiary magistrates who were
appointed to oversee and enforce the new system
did not have proper records o base their

© Women and children were overworked

© Work hours were extended beyond the 40%
stipulated in the Act to 45 and even 50 hour.

(© The work day was extended from 9 to 11 hours.

© Food, clothing and other requirements specified
in Clause XI ofthe Act were withheld

hough a

complaint against them might have prevented them

setting their par ofthe £20 milion compensation.

The only stipulation which they appeared to follow

was in espect to not obstructing religous

instruction, since by 1840

The planters abused the process ev

ofthe former slaves

GR The metropolitan movement a manon

Had converted to Christianity and were regular
Church goers.

Another underhand strategy used by the plantes
‘vas making a high valuation of apprenticed
labourers who wanted to buy fall reedon
immediatly. In one case ofa Jamaican woman
named Sally, her former master wanted her to pay
£41 for her freedom, although she would probably

Have been bought for Less than £20 during slavery.
The apprenticed labourers had thir own strategies,
for getting the price lowered. For example, they

‘would pretend to bel, or lim to be much older

than the rally were. Of course, most ofthe ex
slaves did not have enough money o buy their
freedom. Sl in Jamaica nary 1,500 of them did
0,38 did about 900 in Barbados. This shows how
determined people were to overcome any obstacle
inorder to truly gain independence

The Bish government also passed laws intended to
keep the population controle. Vagraney laws were
passed which were intended to keep the exslaves
from sing as well as restit their movements off the
plantations Fr example, Jamaica passed a Vagrancy
Actin 1833, one year before emancipation, which
allowed the arrest of any individuals who threatened
to run aay from the plantation (whether or not they
actualy did so. In Dominica a similar at allowed the
lamest of any black people who made too much nose
in dhe towns. Other vagrancy acts were passed in
Barbados, Antigun and Guyana. The penal for
such transgression could be 60 lashes or six months
injai The police were given additonal powers, and
lit forces were putin place in several colonies.
Many histories have argued that the treatment of
Hack people in the Caribbean actual deteriorated
under the apprenticeship system. Planters in the large
part sll sw black people as chatte property and

wanted to squeeze the last amount of labour from
them, The magistrates records indicate people were
charged with the pets of offences

The stipendiary magistrates

These magistrates were appointed by the British
government to protect the rights ofthe formerly

us

116. us

enslaved African and to settle disputes between
‘employers and labourers. Some of them did their
best, although many others sided with the planters
in continuing to oppress the newly feed populace,
In cer ease, there were simply not enough
stpendiary magistrates o oversee the colonies
properly. There were 150 in all, and 60 of them
‘were based in Jamaica. Their contracts were for

two yeas only, s fthey didnot do thei job tothe
governments satisfaction they could be dismissed
Tong before the apprenticeship system was
‘supposed to end. They were paid relatively low
salary of £300 a year (later increased to £450),
which meant they were easly bribed. Also, many
died from diseases. Despite al this, several of the
magistrates seemed to have won the respect ofthe
freed blacks, who saw them asthe only trustworthy
white men in the colonies

Failure of the apprenticeship system
‘The system was ended prematurely mainly because
the planers continued to try and oppress their
former slaves and the re blacksrefused to allow
this. The British government itself was never
satisfied with how the apprenticeship system
fanetioned and thought hat the best way to stave
offany potentially volent conflict, as well as getting
vs fill

{he colonies economically fet

to gran fl freedom once and forall

There were sll activist groups in Britain, the
members of which had agitate for abolition, and
‘who now opposed apprenticeship. By 1837, these

groups had succeeded in mobilizing publi opinion
against the system, building onthe anti-planter
sentiment which had helped bring about
‘emancipation in the ist place. Within the colonies,
100, brave protest action bythe feed blacks,
ranging from refusal to work, o vandalism, to
demonstrations also helped undermine the

apprenticeship sytem, convincing the authorities

(hat it was unworkable. A House of Commons
committee appointed to examine the system found
thatthe feed blacks continued to be treated like
slaves under the system in Jamaica, Grenada,
‘Guyana and St Lucia, where they were overworked
and flogged, and that stipendiary magistrates in
Barbados were deeply corrup, taking bribes to
decide matters in favour of the planers

Several petitions were sent to Parliament by the
Society forthe Gradual Abolition of Slavery and
other groups, calling for the apprenticeship
system tobe eformed, The planters didnot
support this, in fact preferring thatthe system be
‘ended completely, since any reforms would hardly
have been 0 their advantage, Many of the planters
ad already begun looking for other sources of
labour, since they knew that geting their ex-slaves
to work on the plantations might be an
impossible task

The British government was at frst hesitant to give
fal freedom since, despite the peacefal transition 0
«emancipation, its member til eared uprisings by
the feed blacks. However, since the non-praedial
workers were tobe freed in 1898, there was also a
risk that the field worker, who were supposed to
be apprenticed fora farther two years, might rot
he planers sil wanted the system to run is fll
courte, with those in a
demanding farther compensation for he premature
termination, However other planters wanted the
system ended mainly because they wanted to be

aca and Belize even

free ofthe expense of providing food, shelter and
medical are to the apprentices. In fact, he colonies
actually ended up passing their own emancipation
act to end the system early, starting with Jamaica,
after which the British government followed suit
For these and other reasons, the apprenticeship
system was stopped in 1838,

supposed to end.

117. REVISION QUESTIONS

rar pt tc Kar ol
‘any ri between e Bin and e Franc

slavery movement up 1834 25 mars)
ene ltl = 25 mark)

References and recommended reading

"Revert Joseph: Jon, hate sar. shoul be
ola because of religous and humaritarian restons
{ain Sig 1 not ages with you Slavery sould be

made mary Christan isiraris he Cara
Ost the canal arguments used y many Br
Caria gates to Gen aan 0 marks)
Coal = 25 mars)

3 Gén cue ti tatementslvery vas alt

(25 maris)
4 Why ash apprentis system ened orate in
the Brith West Ines? (25 mar)

gra seri

u

118. us

Adjustments to
emancipation 1838-76

Emancipation did not mean an easy Life or he
African in the Caribbean. They could no longer be
punished at will by thee former masters, but they
‘were sl on the bottom ru

‘They co

ofthe social ladder.
dot vote and they had few or no rights
10 own property so they could not hold public
‘office. Als, they now had to ind ways to get their
‘own food, clothing, shelter and tol

saved Africans
‘were feed pardy because sugar was no longer as
profitable as it used to be, However, because sugar
wasno longer so profitable, he planters were not

As you leaned in Chapter 4, the €

iling to pay high wages 0 hei former saves,
hil the latter wanted to work fora sum hat they
considered fi

‘The compromises reached were sometimes, but
not always, determined by the availability of
land

inthe larger colonies, such as Trinidad
British Guiana and Jamaica, the Africans could
find land to grow tei own erops, whereas this
was more dificult in smal islands such as
Barbados and St Kitts, A the same
larger islands had bigger populations of Africans
who needed to earn wages in order to buy

necessities, so the supply oflabour was
sometimes greater than the demand for it

We will look at his issue in more detail later in this
chapter, bu frst we must examine the tate ofthe
sugar industry aftr 1838,

Although it cannot be said to have on exact tart, the
dectne ofthe Caribbean sugar industry might be
date from 1747, when in Germany the chemist
Andreas Maggraf (1709-82) showed tat

the root ofthe beet isthe same asthe sugar obtained

Tewould take another halécentury for bet sugar
production to start on a commercial sal, because it
‘wa sil cheaperto make sugar ram cane in the
Caribbean using save labour, so eet sugar only began
10 compete seriously with cane sugar afer 1970. Even
soby 1813, Napoleon's war against ther Euro

countries caused blockades between France and its
colonies, France had se up 334 ctories producing
4,000 tons ofbeet sugar a year. These factories were
dosed when he war ended, since cheaper cane sugar
‘once agin became available, but they stated
production agin in 1816 after France lot the
profitable colony of Maurits. By 1826, France had
1900 factories producing 34,000 tons of sugar ayer.

119. By 1833, beet sugar production had become so
efficent that 400 factories made neatly ice the
40,000 tons ever yes halfcentay ltr
the world would be producing more hee than

The policies ofthe Bish government after
emancipation actually helped undermine the sugar
industry int colonies. As a general ul, the
Mother Country’ did not want ts colonies making
manufactured goods to compete with products rom
England. This policy was called “mercanilin =the
idea that county's prosperity depended on geting
cheap raw materials from colonies, making
manufactured goods from these materials then
selling the goods within national borders, back to
the colonies, and o ther counties

Gale a ain mater ap

502 Assent to emaripaton 1836-76

ty big hs Europea aon Sot

This policy even induded refined sugar. So even

‘hough the West Indian plantations were technically
capable of making refined sugar instead ofjust
exporting brown sugar to England tobe processed
into white sugar, the British government charged
higher duties on refined sugar coming from

its colonies,

Problems affecting the West Indian sugar industry
inthe postemanelpation period

Increasing cos of production

© There mas management o estates by managers
© Labour had to be pl wages now hat sary

Increasing debts
© Planters ha borrowed extensive from Ssh

om eo row Ian alte o rv

Cena Bank ofthe West Ine i
‘Shortage o regula relatively cheap sup
of tour

© Ate emancipation here wa net of ex

Kap stock, kl friars moved te

eters resp. »

ns

120. 120

«
"© atricans ten supplements er incomes by

Decne in market for West Indan sugar
© Preferential dus on West rans
Eau

© buses were equal

Since the ate 17h century the British government
had imposed tariffs on sugar coming from outside
British territories, so that the colonies were able
to sell hei sugar to Britain at a cheaper price
(although his made sugar more expensive for
British consumers). In 1846 though, he British
government started lowering this tariff and by
1854 a single duty rate was applied to al sugar
ofa given quality entering Britain. This meant
that sugar from the British Caribbean colonies
had to compete with the cheaper sugar being
produced in Cuba and Brazil and other parts of
the world. At the same time, the "Mother Country

still tried to give some protection tits Caribbean
colonies, by having a tariff which charged higher
duties on refined sugar and lower duties on
partially refined and muscovado sugar. This
helped the West Indian planter, since they
produced mostly muscovado, which was the
low-quality sugar produced by the basic process
of evaporating the juice of sugar cane and draining
off the molasses, However, the advantage oflower
dies was not enough to offset these plantes
production costs, which were higher than those of
other sugar producers,

The planters, faced with all these challenges,
tried to make their production of sugar more

efficient, often using the new technologies of the
Industrial Revolution. For example, some of
them used a vacuum pan, a device which let
more ofthe cane syrup tur into erystals to
produce a higher proportion of sugar. When the
first vacuum pan sugar arrived in England in
1833 though, the government decided that its
high quality made table 10 a tax of £8)

shillings per hundredweight. This was reduced
by 1845 to 16 shilling, compared with 14
shillings for other classes of sugar, but the duties
still prevented the vacuum pan from becoming
‘widely used in the West Indies. By contrast in

Java, the vacuum pan was used in all sugar
factories by 1865.

Measures adopted 1 ry o dea with he problems
Inthe West Inia sugar economy

Alternative tato sources

© nin nenas Ita er use le

echanization o reduction

Introduction of new varieties of cane
© Altes were mad

New teeignes
© Nautiques deep on he ets ine

© ot
Amalgamation of states
© smal etats were Jane og

on

© A large estate nas m
planter »

121. Wes nan planters attempted 1 estabsh
ewer markets

Despiteall dhe measures mentioned, production
of sugar in the British colonies declined in the
years just before and after emancipation, From
1831 to 1838, there was an overall decline of

and by 1842 this decline had reached 40%.

This lin production was due to several factors,
including:

© the trade policies of the British government

© competition from Spanish and French
sugar producers

© glut on the sugar market

© shortage of abou,

As you willsce in the next section, however, this lst
factor did not always apply.

502 Adjustment to emancipation 1830-76

© Hat re probes yo ae poser experien.

© give fire methods you av considering adopt

Attitudes to labour after 1838

Aer emancipation in he British colonies, the
whites and the blacks had dire

For example, white planters wanted to ensure
that they had labour for their sugar plantations,
while the former slaves wanted to get a good wage
for any work they did, These goals were not
always compatible,

A memo written in 1832 by a member ofthe House

‘of Lords who had helped bring about emancipation
revealed the main worry ofthe British government.

The great problem to be solved in drawing up any

isto devise some mode of inducing them, when

relieved ofthe fear ofthe driver and his whip, to

is indispensable 0 carying on the production of

‚ar... its to the imposition ofa considerable

tax upon land dat I chiefly look for de means of

‘emancipation shall have taken place?

This meant thatthe government and the planters
would uy o stop the emancipated Africans from
quiring land by making it too expensive for them
to buy. The typical attitude is also summed up in
the following passage from an essay written by the
British historian Thomas Carlye (1795-1881)
who, even by the more narrow-minded standards of
2 be described as a bit

Case wrotein 1849 that the emancipated Aans,
who no longer needed to work because they oul eat
the fee groing watermelons (which he mistakenly

a

122. ala pumpkins), would nin the West Indian sugar
” Factoseneouaging east leave

industry. He wrote:
y the plantations

ith eau murales up tothe eats in Tes ne
pumpkins... cheap as grass in hose ich climates, | @ psyhaogealdese fr personal tery and
while the sugar-crops rot round them uncut, Tend omnes
cause labour cannot be hire? © Insecurity of eure on te estates

He went on to recommend tha: © tah rent on ette ous

© low wages

4H quashce will not honesty aid in bring a
ut chose sugars, cinnamons, and nobler products dee
ERA eu avalan o land fr clica some eo
mankind, then say neither vil e powers
permit quashee to continue growing pumpkins -

there fo is own lay benef factor do ye thnk was the

‘This, then, was the atiudo of many whites. What
was the attitude ofthe blacks, though, towards

labour afer emancipation? The former slaves did

ot leave her own writen accounts, butsome AER O

‘whites did examine the post- emancipation a

conditions in he colonies. The abolitionists e rie abs all
base who If e platas:

ec Sarge and Thomas Harvey vento
Jamia, where ey conducted ei and Be ei

ras count she bond, Tropen: ER
fic ependary mias ao had uch o

PSS = See

of er is Imagine ou are | The exo rom he plantation as rates in
slaves and slavery is about tobe abc, You ave Jamal Tel an Blin Guiana er large

les ee We tations ad | eat gs emai compre:

One contemporary leer talks about the siwationin © Peasant Polis were nrmal aa ert 2 are
Montego Bay where there were ‘thousands in the O Te was wal efor
islands out ofemploy” assi hat ‘nthe interior © Po prov, fs and ee

and on many ofthe pens there isan immense (© rearing stock sch as cal ez, goats ps

population who would willingly locate on estates
Montego Bay, you should note, was in the lage © Peasants normally practises subtes apilar

island of Jamaica, where thee was plenty of land where safe crop were gramm to ec the fami

and where, as you learned in Chapter 3, here © Some peasants plemented thelr nee y working
Bar tine n e estate for wae,

‘existed free lack communities long before
‘emancipation (the Maroon communities).

123. 4 comi cou

In British Guiana, where there was also alot ofland
salable he governor announced that six former
slaves had bought an abandoned sugar estate
£2,000, 150 labourers bought a coton plantation
for £11,000 and other labourers bought another for
£16,000. This was in 1839, just one year alter
‘emancipation

valait of an in larger claies sch as
Tinga, Jamaica and Brite Guana

Experience a males farmer! rng

© Enslaved Aran were allowed 1 elite

5. Adjostments 1 enana
However one governor would condemn this
entrepreneurship, claiming it had.

On the other hand, Lord John Russell, he Secretary
‘of State forthe Colonies, noted in an 1840 dispatch

‘None ofthe most inveterate opponents of our

recent measures of emancipation allege that the

die insurgents. What appears from

shopkeepers and petty traders, and

hucksters and small freeholders,

Additionally, up to 1842, report from stipendiary
‘magistrates in British Guiana and from official
committee in Jamaica (both colonies, as you

ave read, with land available for squating or
purchase) show thatthe majority of ex-slaves

had, in fact, remained on he plantations to work.
They were not satisfied with the arrangements,
however, complaining t à magistrate that

"We are told we must pay for our provision
ground, doctor fes, finding ourselves with all
necessary, cc. What will be remaining o

case of sickness?

Aficans had received food, plots ofland, shelter
and medical are for fre during slavery and so
reasonably considered these should be part oftheir
‘compensation now tha they were feed. The
planters, on the othe hand, red to charge rents on
both accommodation and gardens so they could
pay thei former slaves less seems that it was
often resentment a his tactic, rather than memory
ofthe raumas of enslavement, which led o fight
fiom the estates.

The evidence suggests that the feed Africans

were not lary as ther racist former masters

claimed, nor did the sugar industry collapse
because they were unwilling to work

13

124. Much depended on the circumstances in each
particular island. In Barbados, for example,
the labourers complained ofa shortage of work,
while in Trinidad the labourers were said to
contol the level of wages. Table 5.2 shows the
diferent arrangements for payment in diferent
islands, For a reminder of shillings and pence
refer to page 112.

Colony Daily wages (hip pence)
Trias 8

fish Guara 28

Jamaica 1568 ut otage alar
StLicla 1556 Gt cottage and ard)
sua e

Barbados 94 wth cage an and)

Ania D theta land mesial re)
ais A share fe stat

By 1842, sugar output had returned to pre

ncipation levels in islands such as Antigua,

St Kits, Barbados, Trinidad and British Guiana,
Nonetheless, the planters sil fee hey would
make more profits if they could pay lower wages,
50 they lobbied the British government to bring in
immigrants so that they would not have to depend
solely on their former slaves for labour

Factors hindering the developmen West
Indian peasantry

© There were prolems wih

© Pars se elation, sich ste Savater

125. Migration schemes as a solution
to the labour problem

China and India were the frst places that
Europeans checked for replacement labour after
slavery ended, The planters had already tried using
other Europeans before the slave trade from Africa
became a fal ledged industry and already knew
that this strategy would not work, i only because
they would have to pay high wages to white
labourers, This was exactly what they wanted to
avoid. China and India seemed ideal sources of
labour Both were poor countries with large
populations, which meant that there were many
people who would se even the hard labour on the
sugar plantations as an opportunity fora etter li

Chia inthe 19h century hada population of ver
350 milion. In 42 had been forced to open is
ports to foreign traders after the opium wars. England,
France and the USA established consulates in China
two years ltr As wth Aca before emancipation,
these power nations saw Chia as anew source of
cheap plena labour India ad a population of
about 250 milion and wa already oocupied by Brain
‘which, by contrast had a population ofjust 3 milion

Tabourers lft India just before
the apprenticeship period drew toa dose, in 1838,
(Ofthe 414 Indians who came, 18 died on board the
ship and another 98 died within five yeas of

landingin the colony 238 Indians later returned to
the subcontinent and just 60 decided to stay in the
Caribbean. Emigration from India was suspended
‘until 1844 because ofthis high morality rat, while
the authorities examined the conditions of
recruitment and shipping,

Between 1845 and 1847, Jamaica received 4,551
Indians and 507 Chinese. By 1854 though just
over 1,800 ofthese immigrants had died or
disappeared, is likely that many of them were
killed bya cholera epidemic which swept through
Jamaica in 1850, Between 1838 and 1917, Jamaica
received 21,500 Indians, St Lucia received 1,550,
St Vincent 1,820 and Grenada 2,570. The largest

5 i Austen to emrepain 1838-76

mers went to Trinidad (145,000) and Bri
ana (238,000)

Some people in Jamaica were against this
importation ofimmigrants. An 1847 leter in a
Jamaican newspapers sad thatthe presence ofthe
Indian labourers

Sends to demoralis our peasantry without
benefiting any pay. we must import human
Tings let them be Africans who have already

demonstrated to the West Indian pl
they are more capable than any othe race to cary

Some churches also opposed Indian immigration,
‘worrying about the fleets such pagans might have on
thei African Christian convert. In Santo Domingo,
the mulatos staged publi protest against the
immigration of Afcans. The Ani-Slavery Society

in England also opposed Indian immigration, saying
itwould reverse the social and moral gains made by
abolition,

"The planters, however, saw immigration as he key
solution to hei financial problems, and it was their
‘oles the British government listened to. The
Crown had four main ams in supporting
immigration, which were o:

© restore and even expand the sugar economy
© createa steady supply of labourers,

us

126. ensure that dhe rling clas inthe colonies
maintained control over the labour force

keep wages low by having immigrant labour
‘compete for wages withthe feed populace,

‘The planters goals were clear: they wanted to have
labourers in sufficient numbers who would work
cheaply. Only in islands such as the Leewards,
Barbados and Belize was there opposition to
immigration schemes from the ruling whites, nd
this was only because the labour supply in these
territories was adequate. Even this situation soon.
changed, however, as the feed blacks refused to
work for low wages and became more independent,
so that by the late 19th century planters in small
islands ike Antigua, St Kits and Nevis were also,
calling for immigrant labour.

By the end ofthe 19th century the West Indes had
received over 300,000 Indian labourers tojoin the
700,000 descendants of Africans in the British
Caribbean atthe end of saver: Some Chinese and
Portuguese labourers were also brought in, but in
small numbers

BAR

LR CP zach

morder to obtain labour, several colonies brought
in Europeans and Africans to work as paid
labourers. Between 1835 and 1838, small groups of
whites were brought from Germany, England,
Ireland, Scotland and Malt othe British colonies
About 200 immigrants came from France to
Martinique between 1848 and 1859. Suriname in
1860 received $48 Dutch Farmers. The largest

‘number of whit labourers came from Spain to
Cuba: about 8,000 between 1882 and 1885,

Generally thes
flares. Gover

tempts to gain labour were
or Fiéron of Guadeloupe described

the European labourers as ‘weakly overworked,
eaten up individual who succumbed easily 10
diseases. There was ao a social obstacle, since
many whit labourers refuse to work alongside the
lack, as doing so meant that their status was no
Deuter than that ofthe exslaves.

Martinique paid 100,000 francs to bring in just
500 French and Portuguese immigrants between

127. 1848 and 1859, Since their labour value could
not justify this outlay, it seems that other motives
were at work - most likly, the desire ofthe
colonial governments to increase the numbers of
whites now thatthe numerically superior blacks
were freed. Nor did the profil ofthe whit
people matter: in 1852, French prisoners were
brought 10 French Guiana as labourers. Cuba

had the largest influx of white immigrants, with
several thousands being brought from Spain, the
Canary Islands and the USA between 1834 and
1839, In the Dutch colony of Suriname, there
was a filed attempt to bring in white farmers in
1860. Of the 348 people who came, many died
from diseases and the rest ft he farms for the
town or returned to Europe,

The Portuguese labourers did not come directly
from Portugal, but from the island of Madeira,
‘which was a por of all on the trade routes between
Europe and the New World They were brought to
several colonies, but most went to British Guiana

Between 1835 and 1850, about 17,000 Portuguese
were brought in and, between 1851 and 1881
another 13,000, The authorities in British Guiana

were especially anxious to get Portuguese labourers,

in part because they had a reputation as good
workers but also because they were white. Since
‘whites, although stil ruling the colony, were small
minority compared to the former slaves and the

Amerindian iheplanter wanted to bring in more
whites to increase their numbers. One governor
wrote, is of immense importance to the future
prosperity o the Colony that arg industrious
body of whites shouldbe established.

However, the scheme had a rocky start In 1841, the
‘number of immigrants brought in was 4,321, but
282 died enroute, For this reason, the British

government stopped paying for Portu
immigration fr five years while he causes ofthis

high mortality rate were investigated. However the

ourers continued t be brought in by private

buyers. Oficial immigration started again in
but the death rate actually doubled to 12%

Also, even more Portuguese labourers de afer
they started working in the colony. Madeira was

562 Adjustments toemancpatien 1638-76

a poor island and many ofthe labourers came
already weak fom famine In the tropical climate,
they then succumbed o diseases such as yellow
fever and to the heat.

Those who survived, though eventually became
quite prosperous in the colony. This was party

"because, as whites, they were given privileges that
the non-white indentured labourers were not. For

‘example, the Portuguese did not have o pay a
monthly tx for intial expenses and were not ted to
three-tem contracts with no commutation option
When the Portuguese started opening their own
stores, they were given eredit by white merchants
who did not extend the same privilege to blacks

As early as 1842, one historian records there were
139 new shops in Georgetown, of which 42 were
‘owned by Portuguese. By the 1850s, he Portuguese
controlled the retail trade in the colon. This san
example of social engineering: here immigration
was used deliberately to designa society ofthe

racial composition desired by the planters The
presence ofthe Portuguese was designed to keep
the Aficans atthe bottom ofthe social pyramid.

The financial succes ofthe Portuguese, and the
perception tha they had been given unfir
advantages, created resentment among the African
labourers in Bish Guiana. Ani-Portuguese riots
‘occured in 1848, 1856 and 1889, supposedly
"because ofthe high profits charged by Portuguese
shop owners

Other colonies received Portuguese immigrants
much later and in fewer numbers. In 1882, 1,000
went to Trinidad, 2,500 to Antigua, 2,100 to
St Vincent and 2,100 to St Kitts-Nevis and
some went. some of the other colonies

‘rican immigration
Since Africans had already

workers during slavery, the planters naturally
wanted to continue using them as cheap labour.
“They wanted new Africa

s though party because
they did not wish to pay higher wages to their

27

128. 28

former slaves, who often expected to get shelter and
{food as part oftheir compensation

These attempts to bringin African labourers
began even before emancipation, when the
abolition of the slave trade reduced the supply
of enslaved African. Between 1811 and1860,
6,000 West Aficans were brought to the
Bahamas. In 1838, about 500 African came to
Grenada as indentured labourers. The French
colonies in toa, brought in about 17,000
Africans. Up to 1859, Guadeloupe received
6,000, Martinique 10,000 and French Guiana
his trade stopped in 1871.

‘There were also atempts to get Aficans from the
USA and Canada. Although few Afican-Americans
‘wanted to come to Jamaica, manly because the
wages there were not attractive, some did goto
‘Trinidad, where the pay was higher. The fist group
of 216 arrived in Trinidad in 1839 and another
1,307 came in 1847. They found the work on the
plantations 100 hard, however, and by 1848 records
show only 148 ofthe original 1,523 immigrants
remained, Most seem to have found other work as
artisans or by taking other non-agricultural jobs,
Some Africans from Canada did go to Jamaica, but
nada because the

(ey soon retuned to C
conditions in Jamaica were worse.

These attempts to use African indentured labour
usualy fled, mainly because the Afican-
Caribbean and the Indian indentured labourers

wore cheaper

Immigration from China and Madeira

Chinese im

Although there had been attempts to bi
‘Chinese labourers befor, it was only in 1852 that
large scale Chinese immigration from the
Portuguese colony of Macao began. Most ofthese
individuals were convicts and prisoner of war,
and this, plus the fact hat no Chinese wom
problems auch
as violence, runaways and inadequate work output
So,in 1860, British Guiana sent an agent to Canton
torecruit Chinese miles. However, the agent often

brought to the colonies, caused m

gave a ale picture tothe Chinese people about th

Kind of work they would be doing and most ofthe
people who came to the colony were smal frmers
and market gardeners not plantation labourers.
When they found out that they had been deceived,
many of them refused to work

Iwas also more expensive t bring Chinese
labourer, since it cost £25 to import one Chinese
‘worker from Canton compared with £15 for an
Indian from Calcuta, Nonetheles, between 1852
1d 1893 approximately 20,000 Chinese came to
the West Indies. Around 12,000 went to British
Guiana, 5,000 to Jamaica and 2,500 to Trinidad

In he Caribbean asa whole, however, the largest
amber of Chinese went to Cuba. Cuba abolished
re save trade in 1845, although slavery itself was
not abolished untl 1886. In 1847, 600 Chinese
labourers were brought to Cuba, The Chinese were
contracted to work for eight years for 12 hoursa
day. Apart from their wages, he owner oftheir
‘contact was obliged to fed them and provide two
‘changes of clothing year. Like the enslaved
Afrcans, the Chinese labourers could be whipped

for disobedience. They also cost only tle more:
«ight years labour cost 720 pesos (at pesos.
month in wages) compared withthe 600 pesos the
‘Cuban planters had paid foran enslaved African.

813

Between 1848 and 1874, Cuba imported
‘Chinese labourers. The mortality rate fora
particular year ranged from alow of 2.2% toa high
(010%, This was onlya slight improvement over
the mortality rate for enslaved African and, indeed,
the Chinese were transported on the ships in
similar conditions. Ofthe total number who came
to Cuba, 12% died at se,

Anglophone Caribbean 1

Francophone Caribbean 1

Despite his large migration of Chinese to Cuba

most Caribbean people of Chinese descent are now

found i
such as

129. Indian immigration and settlement
‘The Indian immigrants proved to be the most
successful in terms of providing labour forthe
sugar plantations

Indian immigration became full fledged after 1845,
when it became clear that the othe immigrants
‘were not meeting the requirements ofthe planters
‘or the British government, Apart rom the Fact hat
they were hard-working and accustomed to
agricultural labour, the Indians were also used to
migration and it was relatively cas to transfer

from one Britsh-occupied terior to another

Additional here were many people wing t
Leave India, where there had been famines, high
taxes and loss ofland, and where poverty was
generally worsening under the “Raj as the British
authorities in India were called Certain aspects of
Indian society, suchas the caste system and the
difculy widows had in remarrying, also made

many people willing to emigrate.

Between 1845 and 1870, Trinidad received 38,413,
Indian labourers. Another 67,100 went to British

Guiana, Although mortality on the ships
Aransporting them was not as high a with the
Portuguese and Chinese, many Indians died while
waiting for transport om the emigration depots in
India, There was an average death rat of 11% in
the 1870s In Trinidad and British Guiana high
morality also became a matter of concern tothe
colonial authorities, The death rate among the
indentured labourers in Trinidad was 12% in 1865.
Investigations determined that as with the

Portuguese, malnutrition was a key cause. À lve

was passed tating that the planters had o provide

5 Adjustments 1 enanpain 1838-76)

daily rations forthe fis year ofindentureship to
all immigrants and the morality rate fl o 25.

In British Guiana, the death rate was approximately
30% in the 1870s, dropping to under 20% only by
the end ofthe 19th century

Recruitment of Indian indentured
labourers for British colonies

Indian labourers were recruited in the villages and
districts of Ini as wel as in crowded cities where
large numbers of unemployed Indians could be
found looking frjobs. Liste below ae the steps
which normally occurred before a recruiter was sent
outto ind Indians who were willing os
contracts as indentured labourers.

1 planters in the colonies would normally tll

the governor and his officials in each colony how
ny labourers they needed forthe year

1 governor would inform the Colonial Office

in London (ihe office that was in charge fall

Briain’ colonies) of the total number of

Iabourers needed and how much it would cost to
import them,

© Those in the office in London would then send
word to the government of Ini, telling officials
how many labourers were needed

©The government of India appointed one ag

verse the emigration scheme in India, He was
known as the

igration Agent in Calcutta, He
would give out icense to recruiters for a specific
‘number of labourers, For example, one recruiter
right gta license o obtain 20 Indian labourers.

The recruiters would hire sub-ecruiters or

sub-agents who would go out to the rural areas
(6 ook fr labourers. They often told the
labourers positive stories ofindentureship to
convince them t register forthe system. For
‘example, the sub-recraters and recruiters would
‘normally tell he Indians that they would not
Have odo any hard work, they would get fee
housing, food and clothes and hey could return
to India whenever they wanted.

© Once the subvagents found enough labourers
who wanted 0 sign contracts, they would tke
them to the depot in Calcuta

29

130. 10

© When there were enough labourers ofl ship,
they would board at Calcuta (and som
the port in Madras) and from here they Ie for

the Caribbean

Bers Bihar

Shipping

Shipping indentured labourers to the Caribbean
was a money-making activity In 1875, the James
Nourse Shipping Company was awarded the
contract to transport Indian labourers tothe

Caribbean in 1875. The ships used were usually

schooners with thee masts, weighing about

500 tons. The journey lasted an

20 weeks for a saling ship

steamer. The Nourse shipping ine was paid £11

12s 6d per adult. The following can be noted
Indian indentured labourers

© Allships were required to have some kind of
hospital wth a medical doctor on board and
enough medical supplies to over the length of
the journey. All emigrants were supposed to be
given constant medical are

© The recommended numberof emigrants was
restricted 0 350 in any one vessl so as to
prevent overcrowding, However, almost all the
ships hat left India had more than this number
on board

© As the numberof passengers was often very high
and overerowding frequently occurred, diseases
were always common on bear the ships. The
most common diseases were motion sickness,
diferent types of fever measles, meningitis and

0

While the contract

then

ontract stipulations

ed according to coo
stipulations were as follows,

Bach abourer wo
cul

be engaged inthe
tion ofthe sol or the manufacture of
produce on any planatio

sundays and authorized holidays

The labourer was required to work For nine hours
in each working day and was atached othe
specific plantation for five years from the date
that person vas sen toa plantation,

Atthe end ofthe five years the lahourers were to

be given a certificate of exemption from

Labour and permitted 0 return to Indi at their

However, the abourer had to work for another

five years on any plantation before he or she

could be given a fee or partially paid return
sage to India

© The Indians received about 25 cents fora day's

1

often increase by the pl
and the |
be arrested and jiled. In 1861,

never fll
nor

labour; his amount varied, hough
below 20 cents per task (a particular am
work that was supposed tobe done)

The planters were suppose to provide some
form of medical care and maintenance free of

charge for labourers during sickness.
The labourers would be given housing (normally
the barracks where the enslaved Aficans had
lived previously),

They were supposed to be given a stipulated
mount of food but the cost of this was
‘deducted from their wages. A child under the
age of 10 was to receive oe third ofthe ration
free of cost

must be noted that the stipulated hours were
ers during erop time,
were also forbidden to leave the

à pass. If they did so, they could
of newly

131. arrived labourers in Trinidad had heen charged!
for running avay which they had done mainly
because they had not expected the work to be so
difficult. This problem was reduced by 1865
‘hough, with just 3% o arrival breaking their

Another problem was caused by the fact that
many more Indian men than women were brought
to the West Indies - about one woman to every
three men. Jealousy and infidelity led to several
murders in the I

period, 14 of 19 Indians murdered in British

dian communities. Ina five-year
Guiana were women, as were al seven Indians
murdered in Trinidad,

When ther contract ended, many of he indentured

labourers chose o stay in the Caribbean. Between
1845 and 1917, only about 25% ofthe labourers
decided wo return o India - about 125,000 out ofa
total of 500,000 who had come tothe region

the sugar industry

Itis ficult to say whether immigration realy
saved the sugar industry. Sugar production up to

2 declined in most of he British colonies
(sce Table 5.1 on page 121 for figures for three
colonies). Table 3.3 shows that by the 1850s
production had increased in Barbados, which did
not have immigrants because there were enough
Iabouers there who were willing to or who had to
work. However in Jamaica, which immigrants did
goto, exports dropped.

562 Adısments to emanation 1830-76,

‘Slave production Paid labour

Colony

Antigua 20,500,001 26174,000 ts
_StKitts 12000000 10,000,000 lbs
Nels 3000000 44000,000 bs

Table 5.4 compares sugar exports 10 years before
cmancipation and 40 year afer starting o use
‘immigrant labour. Tit the same islands as
‘Table 53, plus Trinidad and British Guiana

Colony

a am
Ania 12670

pa AT A
oral 72398 32438

Tina

rt Guns 20215. 124102

Immigration may have helped increase sugar

production, except in Jamaica, where it declined.
This can be explained as Jamaica did not invest as
heavily in immigration. In Barbados, production
rose Uhroe-fold, even though the island received no
immigrant labour

Au best, then all we can say ls that immigrant
labour may have helped some colonies and made
no difference in others. For the West Indies as a
‘whole, sugar exports in this period increased

fom 202,396 tons to 315,136 tons, but his may
Have been due to factors other than immigration
You shoul also bear in mind that profits would not
have increased in tandem with increased export,
because sugar after emancipation was soldat

lower prices,

aa

132. 12

Effects of immigrant groups
on society

tis difiuh to measure the co
ofimmigrants,itiseven harder to determine what
socal impact they had in the varius islands they
seated in, Indians were numerically the largest
group of immigrants, but they sted in signifi
‘numbers only in two colonies ~ British Guiana
(now Guyana) and Trinidad (now the Republic

of Trinidad and Tobago). In other islands, Indians
were so few that they were ether absorbed into the
wide society kept so much to themselves that they
had no social impact, or migrated to the two colonies
which already ha large Indian cemento

Tivo other immigrant groups who were brought as
labourers in small numbers were the Chinese and
the Portuguese. These groups fie started retail
businesses or became merchants

Sl, no mater how

ge or small the diferent
igrant groups, thee presence changed the
Caribbean islands into what are sometimes called
‘plural societies’ or mulú-cthni societies’ In other
words, there ae people in the Caribbean who are
tien of the same county, but who belong to
diferent racial groups, different ancestral cultures,
diferent religions or all of hee,

"The plural society was fist defined by an
anthropologist named JS. Furivall, who studied
Dutch colonies in East Asia. He wrote:

“There ina plural society, with diferent
sections of the community living side by side
1 separately, within he same politcal unit
Een in the economie sphere, there isa
division along racial lines

Contribution of free peasants
to Caribbean society

Every country in the world has had peasan
and many sl do, The Osford English Dictionary
defines peasant sa poor smallholder or
agricultural labourer oflow social statu’. Inthe

Caribbean, the term re peasants is used to
disnguia between those people who culvated
land when they were sl enslaved or who were
never enslaved and the blacks who became
landholders after emancipation. So, except in Hai,
2 peasant class only arose afer 1838 in the British
Caribbean and ltr sil in he other Spanish and
French colonies

Asean society à

Inthe British colonies this new group was formed
Fairy quick. By 1859, jus over 10 years after they
were reed, here were 30,000 small proprietors in
Jamaica and by 1880 the colony records show that,
there were 36,756 landholdings, each under five
acres, Between 1844 and 1859 in Barbados, the
number of smal farmers increased from 1,110 to
3,537, proving wrong the stipendiary magistrate
‘who in 1842 wrote

as the lands principally divided into plantations,

the proprietors are not likely to sel off small

and there being no publi lands availble

itis plain that recholders to any extent cannot be

‘Within 10 years after emancipation in Trinidad,
there were 7,000 smallholders. By 1861 this figure
Had increased to 11,000,

In Hai, which had 8,000 plantations before the
1791 revolution, mote than 46,000 people in the
independent nation became small landowners,
while the other two thieds ofthe population ether
Most ofthe Haitian

squatted or worked for wages.
frecholders were subsistence farmers, but some
produced coffe and other crops to sell inthe

market in Port-au-Prince and other urban centres

In Guadeloupe, although there sl data on
landowners, the numberof market gardens gives an
indication ofthe growing peasant cas, since these
gardens increased from 1,128 in 184710 3,467

by 1859,

In dhe Dutch colonies, where emancipation
occurred in 1863, many planters simply abandoned
thir estates In Suriname, where here was alot of

133. land, the feed Africans migrated to the main urban
centre, Paramaribo. In smal stands such as Aruba
the Dutch government sold land o the blacks
which helped to create a large peasant dass.

The zeal with which the emancipated Africans
approached land ownership demonstrated, fs,
their understanding ofthe value ofland in an
agrarian society and, second, it showed their

desire for economic and social independence

The fist contribution made to Caribbean society
was economic. They produced more crops for sale
and use, such as honey, ginger, bananas and!

arrowroat. Other products were spices logwood,
‘cotton, cocos, coffe and rum. Trade also increased

Because the exslaves now had to buy their own
food,

hing and equipment. By 1850 in Jamaica,
goods produced bythe peasants made up 10% of
the colo

"exports. By
produced 39% of Jamaica's export, especially
ground provisions.

90, the peasant dass

The simple fat thatthe blacks were able to become
landowners was important in itself. It showed that,
they could overcome the obstacles set against them
by both the planters and the British government.
For example, squating was legally forbidden afer
1838 and the British government even passed alaw
which prevented planters from sling land to the
blacks for less than £1 per acre or selling less than a
certain amount ofland (such as 0 acres) so thatthe
black could not own large pots of and, The
planers themselves were often reluctant to sel land
to the former slaves,

Yet, as you have ead, the blacks were sill able to
purchase land and sometimes even estates, both
individually and by pooling their resources. Sil, in
certain colonies, these obstacles prevented the rise
‘ofan independent peasantry. One such colony was
Belize, where cultivable land was far from the
markets where produce could be sold and where
the timber industry, particularly in mahogany
exports, provided employment forthe exalves
Smaller islands, such as St Kits and Antigua, also
had fewer fee peasants, because ofthe limited
availabilty of land to buy orto squat on

502 Adjustments to emanspaten 1638-76

‘The rise ofthe peasant las also had some
negative effets as time went on. These effects,
which included poverty and lack of educational
progress, became pronounced in the 20th century
as economies changed after the Second World
War, as the colonies became independent in the
1960s and as the populations in the islands
became lest rural and more urban inthe 1970,
We will examine these effects in more detail in
Chapter,

Impact of free villages

No matter how many blacks became small

Tandowners, hey could not ress the oppressive
m unless they cooperated asa group. Thisis

why the formation offre villages was so important.
For the fist time, the Africans who had been
bought and brought tothe Caribbean could interact
with one another as free peopl. Living ina village
helped create a sense of community.

Ii ao important to note that by 1840 most ofthe
black people ofthe West Indies were following o
‘oranother Christian al and many of them were
tending churches, Proximity i not enough to make
individuals into a community. Shared belief and
values ae alo essential and since most ofthe
‘emancipated Aficans had been unable to practise, or
had never known, Afican religion», Cristiani
became an important binding force. The church was
also the main insiuton through which the blacks
could make political protests (against unfair laws, or
to obtain government services) or o lear to read
and write

Some fee villages had been established ong before
‘emancipation, by runaway shaves, nthe Guiana
hinterland and the mountains of Jamaica. The planers
Had argued chat, ar emancipation, the former saves
‘would join these villages or le to the remote areas
and set up new villages. This did not happen. In fat,
‘ona plantation near New Amsterdam in Berbice, he
newly emancipated slaves gave a al dress party and

133

134. invited the governor and dhe military commander,
serving the finest wines and foods avaiable in
Ade colony

he formation of free villages happened quite
rapid. In Jamaica, the Bis re village, called
Sligoile, was setup by a Baptist Minister just
one year afer emancipation, in 1835. when
‘emancipation was declared, about 100 families
went there. In 1838, another village named Sturge
Town, built on land purchased by the Anglican
Church, was started on the north coast of
Jamaica. A church and school were built and

70 families came. By 1842, here were over 200
free villages on the island, with about 20,000

inhabitant, These villagers occupied about
100,000 acres which had cost the exalaves
about £70,000 to purchase.

British Guiana also had fre villages soon after
emancipation, By 1848, about 10,000 people
{owned and occupied their own cottages. By 1858

Antigua, there were 67 villages with 5,187
houses and 15,644 inhabitants. By 1857 in

Vincent, here were over 8,000 people living
in thei own houses and in Grenada over 10,000,
Many ofthe villages were named after anti-
slavery activists: Wilberforce, Clarkson, Sturge
and Sligo

Reasons for Crown Colony
government in the 19th century

DI Representative System ay

Government inthe West Indies was a copy ofthe
British system of Parliament. Fach island had a
‘governor (who was equivalent tothe English
‘monarch, a council that was appointed (equivalent
to the House of Lords) and an elected assembly
{equivalent to the House of Commons)

| shor explanation ofthe Brith Parlament
Ferne wt required sual o wage a war the
og woud request ep ro is baron. These were
the precursor to the Hau of Lord eae
ote, sever! Kings and baron were unable

‘he precursors to Mouse of Commens named tis

1295 y the mile of he 14h century, Parmer

The British government could just have given the
pgovemor and his nominated council ttl powers,
but hey needed to have the cooperation of he
‘wealthy planters in the islands, who paid taxes and
were influential within the colonies, Candidates
could only go up for elections based on land
‘ownership, so planters were favoured over even
welboffmerchants. This meant hat dhe assembly
would sometimes favour policies that the British
government opposed,

In this system, called the Old Representative
System, he governor passed al laws, but the
assembly often had control of the colony's annual
budget (or what were called money bill) Every
year, there was vote which allocated money forthe
‘governing ofthe island andthe governor needed the
assembly support or els the government would
not be able to buy supplies or pay salaries

In Jamaica, he assembly even controlled how this
money was tobe spent. The British government
was defeated by the Jamaican assembly in 1678,
when he government tied to pass laws which
would have taken away the assembly's powers

135. In Grenada, when the British government imposed
14.5% export duty without the consent ofthe
local legislature, de law was defeated inthe

English cour.
After emancipation, the disagreements between
the Mother Country’ ants colonies became
more acute, party because the Bish government
vas more concemed about the former slaves ha

the colonists. More plantation owners had returned
to England, leaving their estates to be managed

byattomeys and overseers who, according to
one historian, pad ite attention to agricul

«e ficieney orto humanitarian or socal

considerations’ Of course, he planers had never had
socal considerations ciber, but mismanagement was
«factor in he plantations making les profs, This led

to more government employees being retrenched
Because there was not enough money to pay them.

‘This happened twice in 1853 in British Guiana and
Jamaica, and afer the second time the British
government decided that the colonial system would
have to be changed to use the financial resources of
the islands more een: Sir Henry Barkly was
sent bythe British government to Jamaica with an
offer to wipe out most ofthe debt ifthe assembly
and the council passe legislation to give the
governor more powers. After several months, this

The structure ofthe assembly remained the
same, but private members could
money bills. Instead, there was now an executive

committe, consisting of one council member and
a maximum of three assembly members, who
were the liaison between the governor and the
law-making bodies. This commitee presented the
annual estimates forthe budget. The council

was enlarged and given the power to introduce
legislation which did n

money bills

ave to do with

This new system stared 1854 in Jamaica and
Tobago and in 1859 in St Kits, Antigua, Nevis a

5. Adjustment to encata 1838-76

St Vincent. By 1875,all ese ilands, plus
Dominica and Grenada, had a ‘unicameral
legislature’ - thats, a government made up ofjust
the governor and a council with a majority of

nominated members, There was no elected
assembly. A government system with two law
making bodies, such as a council and an assembly,
is called a ‘bicameral legislature’. Most ofthe
independent Caribbean countries hae a bicameral
legislature, with two chambers called the House of
Representatives and the Senate In Trinidad and
St Leia, the council was made up entirely of
nominated members, Only Barbados and th
Bahamas kept the old colonial system.

‘This Crown Colony system was the prevailing form
‘of government unl the 20h century. This is one
historians explanation ofits

levas a system by which the imperial

government could held the white oli

in check and give some consideratio
the needs of ovenvhelming majority of
Negroes and East Indians a sort of not
lective virtual representation through th
soveror and the Colonial Office.

The system was often criticized by the colonists
who said that the nominated members of
Legislative Council were only there for show,
since the governor could do whatever he wanted.
Ya Jamaica the colonists leo argued het this
system was too expensive and that too many
‘government postions were held by Englishmen
instead of Jamaicans,

The emancipated Africans seemed to support the
new system. In Jamaica, they had been able to
pat their money inthe government savings bank,
buy land and build cottage. One comment that
represented the black view was: ‘We are a law
abiding people, being fully conscious that
without the protection of Government our fellow

colonists would not permit us to enjoy the breath
wwe breathe?

us

136. REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Read he pssage low and anser te questions 2 Exon the mao problems ce y supa
tra lo inthe fst 10 ears a

a Chem a he planter fared that the
sugar nds woe rune fer erection

die ny ose are West Ind colo
Immiraton to e ar en

Discus fur ways in wich imi ae

Recommended reading
ind We, D. Mad te Ene

16

137. The Caribbean economy
1875-1985

cesses, which involve the

tion of raw materials (for example wood),
inks, diferent types of papes)
technology (computerized typesetting, the
printing press and bindery), labour (ypesetes,
press operators, book sellers and so on) and ideas

manufactrin

(academics, writers, editors, for example).

omy therefore, consists ofthe people.
ideas, institutions and devices which produce
goods and services that people need and want
Different ce

goods because o

nomies produce diferent sorts of

mie asl reco har
different resources (materials and skills) or the
same resources in varying quantities. So this book,
for example, might have been made in the
Caribbean, Europe, the Americas or Asa, The
paper may have been made in India, per
‘wood from trees in Br

il the pages may have been
printed and bound on a press manufactured by a

US company with ink made in Chin
produced by a British publisher,

Have traded with one another to obtain diferent
sorts of goods or services. Some countries and
peoples produce goods of higher value, others of
lower value, This is ofen because various countries
have different histories, and history influences how
resources are used,

In this chapter, we vil e looking atthe kinds of

goods produced inthe Caribbean, We will look.
the kinds of resources the area has, and how our

history has determined how people use or misuse
these resources.

All the teri

es in the Caribbean share impor
facets of history, and that history has shaped the
economy ofthe region as a whole. The two mort
important economic factors are planation slavery
and the indentureship system that came after

‘emancipation. Another commonality is dependence

on natural resources (alto called "commodities

to eam foreign exchange. Commodities

from minerals such as ol, bauxite and gold to

agricultural products such as sugar, coffee and

‘cotton. The important point is that such products
exported with tle or no processing and they

are used o produce mamufactured goods, for

17

138. 18

‘example when cotton is made into clothes
Processing and manufacturing both add value to
‘commodities, and advanced economies are based
‘om such added value’, whereas backward
‘economies depend mainly on raw product

you have read in previous chapters, Caribbean
‘economies developed with almost total dependence
‘none crop-in most cases, sugar, Once the enslaved
Alans were fred and the sugar industry al but
collapsed, the Caribbean economies began to
diversify This diversification was sll based mainly
on agriculture. Crops that had been culated when
he Caribbean was ist colonized inthe 15th century
began to be planted again in the 19h century. These
crops included cocoa, coffe, cis frit and
ananas. In he 20h century further diversification
‘occurred with the investment and exploitation of

mineral in those erioies which possessed them,
Bauxite was mined in Jamaica, Guyana and
Suriname, while oi was driled in Trinidad. Tourism
also became an important par of the economies of
many ofthe smaller islands, which promoted the
um, sea and san image to attract tourists from the
USA and Europe seeking o escape the winter.

Impact ofthe fire factors wich affect
the Carbean economy

‘he Carbbean? Some explanations ae go bla ut

Factor Reina on ore rg whether sugar or
Factor 2 Foro owner can mean that deo ae

An important factor hat act the economies of
most Caribbean teriorie is he size ofthe aca.
Neatly all Caribbean territories are island and have
limited land space. Guyana and Suriname, which are
considered Caribbean although located onthe Sou
American continent have limited populations. When
‘county has a small land space, there will on

bea
fe resources which can be used for economic
activity. When a country has a small population, ts
internal market is imited in terms of goods which
an be sold. For these wo basic reasons, Caribbean
economies are very dependent on exports, Moreover,
only few product are exported by each terior.

There are five main factors which affect the
Caribbean economy: These are:

© one main crop — sugar — which was produced
primarily as a raw material rather than processed
‘when the Caribbean was colonized

© foreign ownership and decision making

a production system based on preferences in
developed nations

© competition betwee

© lack of regional integration,

islands for markets

Factor 1 ron ei y wat people inthe
sete more große indie mitin the seg

Factor 4 Competition been the island asics the

Factor 5 Reina integration would ret a larger

work fr the

Caribbean carey, how ost sp a Car

139. Food i the main sector in which production is.
‘mostly for internal use, Food production ranges
from supplying vegetables to locally produced
chicken, pork fish and beet. In 1881, bre were

approximately 400,000 people engaged in
agriculture in the British Caribbean. By 1911, thie
figure had increased to almost half milion, but by
1946 the number had dropped back o under
400,000. By the mid-20¢h century ss than half the
labour force was engaged in agriculture in al save
the smaller islands,

Colony Agriculture (3) Manufacturing 0%)
yg

Sonne
Si

sus
tl EA EEES,

Apart from agriculture, mineral extraction and light

manufacturing, there are dre other sectors which
have become significant in the Caribbean economy:

© Offshore financial servicos - mainly involving

banking services. Such services ae called

‘offshore’ because the accounts are not subject to

the normal rules and regulations ofthe country

ing the services, which means that people

from other countries can bypass ther countries
rules and regulations. Offshore banking services
are used mainly by individuals who, and
‘companies which, do not wish to deposit or
transfer cash

thin their oe juridictions.
for tax reasons, but offshore
financial services have also been known to be

used by drug trackers, for example, to launder
the money from ther illegal trade, The main
Caribbean teritories providing offshore financial
services are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas,

Barbados, the Cayman Islands, he Netherland
Antilles, and St Vincent and the Grenadines,

© Information processing, This involves inputing
data provided by organizations, usually from
more developed countries, which find it cheaper
10 use labour from the Caribbean. This has
expanded and become particularly economically

1608 The Cabra eenemy 1675-1905

viable with the development ofcomputers and
the Internet In 1993, information processing
provided employment for about 5,000 people,
but within two years over 7,500 people were

employed in the sector

© Export processing zones or EPZs. These are
specific areas in a country where normal laws
related to trade and other business regulations
are not applied. Several Caribbean countries,
such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic
have passed laws creating EPZs in order to

“tract foreign investment and create jobs.
Companies setup within these zones because
they can get cheaper labour and pay lower taxes
than in other locations. Clothing and textile
companies ae the main companies which use
Za, as well slight manufactures

In terms oftheir economies the Caribbean
territories are divided into four categories: large
islands, small islands, mainland states (hose

‘countries which are considered Caribbean alt
located in the South American continent) and

dependent states. The fourth category, dependent
states, refers to those terrtoies which ae sill
politically linked t the metropolitan nations which
colonized them, and which therefore receive
economic benefits rom them, The categories are
Fisted in Table 6.2, and Table 6.3 shows the income
levels these four categories.

Titres

‘Smal and tates Aga and Barbuda, he
Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica,
Grenada, St Lula, St kts and
Nevis Tidad and Tobago
mme
‘Arab, Netra tle,
au, Montserrat, Bish Virgin
Islands, Cayman, Turis are
ales, French Giana, Guaeouoe,
Marius, Pero Rio, Unies
Stats Vii lands

19

140. 140

‘Table 6.3 lists 27 counties, 14 of which chose to
Become independent in the 1960s. Of those eight
have lower-midle o low incomes ve have upper
middle incomes, and only one, the Bahamas, has a
high income. On the other hand, of the 13 countries
‘which have remained formally linked othe
‘metropolitan nations, our have high incomes five

have high to upper-middle incomes and four have
upper-middle incomes, Ofcourse measuring the
benefits of independence needs to look beyond
purely economie categorization

status Countries
‘ool,
‘Bermuda, Bish
Vein sands,
Mons. Tu
a Caicos
Tomtom ofthe Unites Stes Hi
USA France, Virgin lan,

puerto Ris
deluge,
Marie Se
‘Anioua and Upper mie
Barca,

Barbas St

Kits and Nei,

St Lela nad

and Tobago

StVinantana Lower mie
Grenadines, ion

vale, rent,

Beine, Cuba

Surnane,

Income este
Hi to ver
matte

mn

Torito ofthe
USA, France

‘per mie

Independent

In four major Anglophone Caribbean counties
(Barbados; Guyana, formerly British Guiana
Jamaica; and Trinidad and Tobago) trade increased
significantly between 1955 and 1983, Esports in
1955 toulled USS352 milion; by 1983, his figure
had grown to USS3,602 milion,

import also grew more than ten-fold, from USS
in 1955 to US$5,235 in 1983. You should note
that, in both periods, the region wasimporting
more than twas exporting, However, when a

he value of

country imports goods, it must pay the country the
goods are coming rom. That is why, for most
countries, eher imports equal export or a country
‘exports more than it imports. How could the
Caribbean be buying more than it was sling? It
could be that various counties were going into debt

hey were living beyond their means) or hat many
‘people in the Caribbean were receiving remittances
(including foreign currency, such as U

UK pounds sterling) sent by their relatives living in
these countries. In 2007, Jamaica, for example,
received USS2 billion from Jamaicans living abroad,
‘mainly in the USA (60%) and the United Kingdom
(25%). This was a significant 13% of Jamaica's
GDP. Guyana received USS278 milion, Barbados
US$140 million, and Trinidad and Tobago

US$92 milion. Remitances ae therefore a
significant economic activity linking the Caribbean
and the more developed countries

Up the 1980s, unemployment was a major
problem in al he Anglophone islands, and it
remains so today. In recent decades, in Jamaica
‘unemployment averaged between 20% and 305
ofthe workforce; in Barbados, and Trinidad and
Tobago, it was 17-18%; and in the smaller islands
more than 20% ofthe workforce usually did nor
have job. In more developed countries, the
‘unemployment rate is usually below 10%

Several actors explain the différent economic
performance in different Caribbean counts,
Perhaps te most important is size. The second fctor
is ours, which is deal with in more deta rin
this chapter third factor is government policy in
respect othe economy: the exchange rate, ves ol
lts andl rif, tax breaks and so on. All hese

141. factors havean impact on four major economic
challenges ofthe region. These challenges ae

© unemployment
© volatile world markets for Caribbean products
© foreign debt

(© natural disasters

Unemployment obviously means not having job at
all ut having job where the pay cannot meet
living needs or having job only occasionally
(known as underemployment) are also employment
problems. Unemployment and underemployment
ae especially high among young people in the
region. This factor is related to crime, which further
undermines the economy, especially in the

territori where tourism isa main income source,
since tourist are ess key to visi places where
they do not fee safe. Unemployment i alo related
tothe fat that most Caribbean economies are not
properly diversified, so

e are fewerjob
‘opportunities available, This also leads to many
‘qualified people leaving the region to sete in
developed nations. This ‘bran drain’ as itis called,
reduces economic development because there are
fewer skilled persons in the region

Its also importan to examine the challenge of
‘volatile world markets affecting Caribbean
products. Whether the products oil, bawite or
Bananas, demand on the world market often
determines whether Caribbean economies will be
prosperous or poor. In Trinidad and Tobago the
economy depends mostly on ol and natural gs.
Trinidad and Tobago has experienced two ‘boom
and bust eyes, in the 1970s and between 2003

and 2005. When manufactured goods ae in high
demand inthe developed countries, aluminium.
which is made rom the aw material ofbauite, is
in high demand. Agricultural products are ess
subject to such cyles, but are nonetheless affected
by trade negotiations in the developed countries,

The thin challenge in the is foreign deb, fects
countries which have borrowed levy inthe pastin
order to build infastructre or and education and

sam

bean economy 1875-1985

ea initatives Jamaica and Guyana aye had to use
a signant part of ci foreign exchange earings
every yar to pay off hese debts, CARICOM
‘countries ls use up foreign exchange to import
services relating to commissions, royals, patents
and advertising, as wells manager, professional
and technical serves See more information on
‘CARICOM in Chapter 8. Foreign exchange issues
also affect relations between Caribbean counties,
because when there ia shortage of US dollars,
Caribbean govemments often rase protectionist

ers. This happened in the ar 1980s in
RICOM. Another policy measure used by
governments is curreney devaluation - thats,
Towering the value oftheir local currency in relation to
the US dollar (or some other currency such as
pounds sterling Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and
“Tobago alladopted his strategy in the 1980s. The
frst two ofthese countries had to goto the
International Monetary Fund fora loan and currency
devaluation was par of he agreement, Trinidad and
Tobago devalued its currency volant in an
tempt to dal wit foreign exchange problems
following the bust of the 1970 oil boom.

lenge in thelist,

collapse for Countries dependent
on tours or the destruction of rops, which may
be wiped out by hurricanes and flooding, In 1995,
hurricanes Luis and Marilyn caused severe damage
to hotels in Antiqua and Barbuda. In 1998,
hurricane George and Mitch reduced Jamaica's
tourist earings. In 2004, Hurricane van vewaly
flatened Grenada, wih 90% ofthe country's hotels
and tourist apartments destroyed. The island has
rebuilt infrastruc

through international loans
and charitable donations

am

142. 12

The discovery that sugar could be obtained from
"ect was made in 1747. However twas not una
century later that beet sugar production started to
‘compete with cane sugar production. From 1850,
ect sugar started to improve its cop yields (thas,
give more sugar per bee) the manufacturing process
"became more efficient and beet producers marketed
thir sugar beter than the cane producers. By 1880,
beet producers were making half ofthe worlds sugar
and by 1890 they were making 5% ofi

However, beet producers also benefited
from European govemments policies, Since beet
was grown in European counties, the governments
subsidized the cost of production and also put up
tarifs which made cane sugar very expensive to.
import into their countries a policy called

This mea

‘protection
competing with ca

that beet sugar was
sugar on uni terms.

For example in the 1880s, sugar made in France
was sling for 15% les han it costo produce,
These police resulted in a decline inthe prices

for cane sugar Between 1870 and 1880, world sugar
production rose by 44% but prices held steady at 20
Shilings perhundredweight (cw) In 1884, dhanks|
to beet sugar flooding the British marke, the price
filo 13 shillings. Ye British Caribbean sugar cost
von average about 16 shilings per owt to produce, so
there was no way fr the planters to make a prof

Additional improved production methods and
Detter packing (in bags instead of bares) meant
that more sugar ould be stored for longer Sugar
sellers were therefore able to demand lower
from sugar producers, because they did not have to
sell he sugar as quickly. By 1807, the price of sugar
was below 10 shillings per ow.

“This eriisled to the seting up of a Royal
Commission, which recommended ending the
system of subsidizing beet sugar exports This was
partially achieved by the Brussels Convention in
1902, but this didnot help the British Carib
sugar producers very much, The planters begged the
British government to restore protective ai but

the government was following fee trade principles
and Brish consumers wanted cheap sugar.

Asa esa the planters tamed to the US market,
and this strategy was more successful By 1900,
more than 65% of British Caribbean sugar was
going tothe USA. However his market was
profitable only fora limited time, sino

sugar plantations were unable to compete with he
larger more modern Cuban ones

Pia

So by the end ofthe 19h century, ri Caribbean
war producers had three main problems, They were

falling sugar prices
‘competition from beet sugar
backward technology
“The planters usc several strategies to overcome these
challenges which you wil ead aboutin te next
section, Other problems persisted into the
20th century though. A major issue was employment
‘Since the Caribbean colonies had mainly produced

gar a large proportion ofthe population was
‘aployed in the industry both before and afer the
aboliion of slavery: However, asthe industry declined,

‘many people had to find other ways o make a ing,
After the First World War (1914-18), there was

143. “boom in sugar prices, Sugar was sling at USS100
per tonne, but then prices collapsed in 1921 and
1922. Aferwards, there was the economic collapse
ofthe 1930s and sugar prices dropped to just

{US $20 a tonne. The price of most othe primary
products ls droppe and this badly affected the
Caribbean which produced mostly primary rather
than manufactured or processed, products. In 1920,
the sugar industry employed one person per 1 acres,
buy 1950 itemployed 1 person for every 2acres, le
isimpossile fra man to eta decent standard of
ving rom two acres ofland om any staple cop in
any par ofthe world? wrote the Caribbean's

Famous economist, W. Arthur Levis,

The Brussels Convention of 1902 was only the fist
of efforts to regular dhe sugar industry with similar
negotiations taking place upto the 1980s, In 1931
and in 1937, International Sugar Agreements were
signed, aimingto keep a balance between the global
demand fr sugar and supply fom sugar producer
The idea was to use quotas and stock control to
regulate production, and to control consumption by
seting sugar importers to agree to bring in the
smallest amount needed for domestic use in their
countries. When the Second World War started in.
1939, hc

weve these efforts al cam to naught

During this war, Britain bought all the British
(Caribbean's sugar at an agreed price. When
ended, sugar refiners in Brin lobbied the

goverment to ensure that they would continue to get
the raw material they needed from the Caribbean,

The British government in 1948 agreed to provide
quota and price guarantee to he suppliers, as had
been done under the previous Sugar Agreements

In 1951, the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement

as signed, under which Britain agreed to import

1.7 million tons ofsugar annually. The Cari
colonies provided 70-80% ofthis quota at an agreed
price. However, when Briain joined the European
Economie Community (EEC) in 1974, the
Agreement vas changed to the Sugar Protocol

This Protocol was an agreement between the El
and the former colonies, which were now called the
Afrcan-Caribbean-Pacific group (ACP). The
agreement vas à govemment-to-govemment legal

668 Te Carte enon 1875-1965

document which specified the amount of sugar and
at what prices the ACP countries would supply to,
the EEC. This price was £147 per ton, and when
the Protocol was signed the world price of sugar
vas tvorand/-ahaf times higher At the time, the
EEC was the world’s largest importer of sugar. By
the 1990s i was al the largest importer but now
also the largest exporter. The protected sugar
brought into Europe under the Protocol was
exported fom the EEC’s domestic supply, which
included beet sugar, This dumping resulted in

lower sugar prices. However, these same lower
world prices meant hat CARICOM counties
benefited inthe long run from the preferential
arrangement - by one calculation, to the tune of
US$I.A billion between 1975 and 1992.

18

144. 1m

+
head of canst in ho! a at age 014
Ie radiate from high cool A e was to young

saved work asa clerk ina goverment’ ofi. Tree
attended the London School of Econo

He rats with a PRO In 2940 and was empiys as
ture at LSE rom 193 o 1967. The on ae

© Professor of Econemis a the Unie of

© Principal th Urey Calg of he Wes Ines,

© Fir vie cm

© UN Econamie Adviser to the Prime Minter of
Gran, 1957-63

© First President fe Carioca Orveopm

© Protest

In 1938, daily wages for unskilled sugar workers in
the British Caribbean colonies ranged between.

28 cents in St Vincent toa high of 60 cents in
Jamaica. In Cuba, the minimum daly wage was
80 cents for an unskilled worker.

However

is didnot mean that dhe Cuban sugar
workers were better off than those in the British
islands, Generally speaking, poorer people spend a
Higher proportion oftheir income on food than
richer people. In Barbados a labourer was paid
about 30 cents day and had to spend 7 cents on
food, which was 23% of his wages. In Cuba, food

cost about 47 cents a day, and the Cuban worker
Had to spend nearly 59% ofhis wages on food. The
Cuban, by his measure, was actually poorer than
the Barbadian labourer

The Great Depression (1929 to about 1939)

(17% ar aboot a of te

nase nt 1939, when te Second

The Great Depresion was mn character y

© tre stock market rath

© care of banks an eher busses

© hon unemployment

© are in poverty

© amsn distrito of wealth wich eto a
sarin fey way ee dt

© arise nthe number of hunger marches

© an nene inte number tee

145. The amount ofland planing sugar also declined as
the crop became les proftable which meant that
fewer people were enployed as sugar worker

Country Renee Ce)

Gonna 28
a rl
St els

i a a a

Sugar production stopped in Antigua, St Lucia,
St Vincent and Grenada in the early 1970,
Between 1950 and 1980, production dropped by
39% in Barbados, 45% in Teinidad and Tobago,
and 33% in Jamaica. In Guyana (formerly British
Guiana), production went up by 25% compared
with that of 1950, bu the sugar industry there had
dropped by halfduring the 1960s.

Sugar and its by-products (ram and molasses) earned
Jess in export dollars between the 1950s and 1980s
As you wll sc inthe sections in his chapter on
industriaization andere agriculture, his
percentage drop was partly because the teritories
‘were caming money from other products.

195706) | 1988 0%)

St ucla

Solving the problems

you are making bracelet for $5 and sling hm
for $3, you wil soon have no money to make
bracelets In economic terms, your costs of
production are more than the profs fom your ales,
pou go obriouahis to
el our bracelets for more than $5, but this might

ut ofbusiness. The solution

note possible if someone elses sling bracelet for
Les, This was the base problem facing British

(6 The Canbtean eonamy 1875-1985

Caribbean sugar produces, so he fit hing they
<i was try to reduce the cost of making sugar

Several actors made this possible in the larger
colonies, such as British Guiana, Trinidad and
Jamaica, but not always in the smaller islands,
These factors included:

© improved cane species which resulted in higher
Yields per acre

© lower wages for workers

© better tools

© use of rtliers

betr irrigation systems

© a differently organized plantation

© investment in new mills and machinery

“This last factor was particularly important. Old

machines which were entirely operated by manual

labour were replaced by new advanced machines.

which required skilled operators and efficient

technical supervision. The new mils an on steam
power, rather than on human or animal power, and
had a large capacity. In 1860, the old-style sugar
mill ground cane from about 400 vo 500 hectares
ofland. By 1890, the new mils could grind canes
from 1,200 to 1,500 hectares, and they also
extracted tic

the amount of sugar. Also important
vas the use ofthe vacuum pan, referred to
Chapter 5. In 1891 in Trinidad, 49% of sugar
‘exported was made by vacuum pan, and by 1896
this was up to 53%.

All hese factors meant that smal plantations could
no longer he profitable, For one hing, hey could
not afford the new equipment and, even if they had
installed new mil, they could not produce enough
sugar ean to make the mills cost-effective. As à

result, small plantations were sometimes combined
into one large plantation, mostly in the large
colonies such as British Guiana and Trinidad. Also,
rather than each plantation having its own factory
some colonies setup one central factory whieh
purchased sugarcane rom the various plantations.
Between 1884 and 1894, the central factory built
by the Colonial Company in Trinidad reduced
production costs by half By 1897, British Guiana
planters had reduced their production costs to

14s

146. 146,

9 shillings per owt as had planters in Barbados,
‘while in Trinidad and Jamaica the production cost
‘was 7 shillings per et.

> al

Tre Lom Carention asa trae agreement between the
European Union (EU) ad the Carora patos as wel
as Alcan on Pci counts signal Lomé Togo,
ln 1978. was established to promote tre acom and
sociocultural delopmen of se avs. he Comenten
‘save duty ee acesso mst Cale product,
without regule the Crean cours o ge e
Same acces to ont ram EU sours,

Many of these upgrades were financed on credit
fiom British-based merchant houses, which meant
that the British Caribbean sugar industry became
most owned by firms and individuals inthe
“Mother Country. Barbados was one of the few
exceptions. Here the colonial government put
money into the sugar industry passing the
Agricultural Ads Act 1887 which was based on

loans from private individual guaranteed by the

‘government, However, most ofthe merchant houses
prefered to invest in the larger colonies, such as

dad and Guiana, which had more eri soil
and which allowed several small plantations o be
combined into a arge one. Between 1870 and
1900, the sugar industry was controlled by a small
group of refiners and bankers who erated a cartel
that fixed prices.

Inthe last years ofthe 19th century, these investors
started using modern techniques such as sampling
to predict world sugar production, instituted new
‘management practices, created beter statistics and
took advantage of etter communications through
the telegraph and the telephone. For example,

they learned London's closing prices before the
New York Stock Exchange opened, due tothe
five-hour ime difference, and so they knew when
to buy and sel sugar stocks so as to make a profi,
depending on wheter share prices were going up

‘The Caribbean sugar industry in dhe 20th century
survived. The availabilty oflabour was possible
because international polices such as the Lomé

Agreement let Caribbean sugar be sold at preferred
rates in European countries, and provided funding
to sustain the sugar industry In Trinidad, the

government also subsidized the sugar industry aer

1975, when the British owners of the largest sugar
and agricultural product fr, Caron Lid, decided
to close the company and it became a state-owned
company,

oo ate Lore

o

Alcan, Caribbean ad Pai ours. |

Only in one Caribbean island did sugar production
thrive or several decades. This country was Cuba
“The main reason for its suecesfl sugar production
ae gvenin the nex section,

The growth of the Cuban
sugar industry

Even asthe Bish Caribbean colonies struggled to
revivea decining industry, the sugar planters in

Cuba were adapting 1 the challenges so effectively
that Cuban sugar production itself became a
challenge othe British islands, From 1829, Cuba
became the word’ largest producer of sgt,

‘The Cubans were success Fr four main reasons,

o tomodemize

hey had already hegun
their feo

(© They had more land for their plantations.
© They were able 0 obtain financing,

© They did notabolish slavery.

Whereas the British sugar colonies often tied to
diversify thie agricultural production to met the
sugar crisis, the Cubans went the other way and
made their economy even more dependent on sugar
ane. By 1855, sugar and is by-products accounted
for 84% of Cuba's exports, Land that had been
used for growing coffee tobacco and cotton vas

planted with sugar cane instead, In 1846, there

147. were 1,670 col farm in Cuba. By 1862, there
were just 782 and by the late 1870s fewer than 200,

farms were sill running,
In 1860, Cuba had 1,318 mills producin
515,000 metric tons of sugar a yar. By 1895, the
island had just 250 mills, but these were so much
more efficient that they produced 1.5 million
tonnes annually Also, quantity was not the only

advantage. The sugar produced in the modern
factories was also of higher quality. Before
modemizaton, the quality of the sugar depended
on the ripeness of the can he pur

the intensity ofthe fire that heated the boilers
and the kil ofthe overseer in coordinating the
various stages of production. The new process,
by contrast, was seienfcally standardized and
run by technically rained professionals

In addition, rather than two or thee different
kinds of sugar, between 14 and 21 types were now
made, differentiated by colour and texture. So by
‘one main measuring system, the lowest quality,

ofthe juice,

grade 1, was the brown mass called muscovado,
while the highest, grade 21, was powdered white
sugar, There was also a purty measure, called
pol, and most of the export from Cuba to its
main marke, the USA, were categorized as pol
95%. This meant the sugar would not spoil and,
since the sellers could store it for longer, they di
not have to worry about ess profit due to
spoilage The sugar importers thus made the
producers lower their prices, since the importes
‘were buying larger q

single purchase

antes of sugar in

ven packing became more adv

ed. Previously,
ugar had been transported in wooden boxes or
hhogsheads. After modernisation, nearly all sugar
was packed in bags. This reduced transport and
storage costs, because boxes and barrels were
heavier and took up more space than bags. Also,
in 1871, the tonnage carried by steam ships finaly

surpassed that of sling ships. This meanta more
reliable supply for merchants and consumers,

17

148. 18

since steam ships did not depend on good winds
and a steamer could carr fie times the cargo ofa
sailing ship. Freight rates between Europe and the
USA fell 25% between 1860 and 1880, and 63%
between Europe and the Asian colonies (India,
Java, Mauritius and dhe Philippines). Before this,
the Caribbean colonies had lower eight rates,
since they were closer to the main markets, Now,
with the drop in costs, they lost that advantage

oie
agency, Yur agency hs bee re y a Cuban an
‘th itersn In ren als fs rect. Ir a

=)

All his helped Cuba. I mustbe emphasized,
though, thatthe modemization process applied
‘only tothe sugar cane factories, not othe cane
fields. The methods of clvation and harvesting
did not change, so productivi per agricultural
worker stayed the same, However the productivity
offactory worker ose, since the new machines let,
them do their work more quickly and efit
This, in turn, meant thatthe supply of canes from
the fields had tobe increased, so more workers had
to be used. Chinese indentured workers, as you
read in Chapter 5, were imported in the 1850s, and
the Guban planters also tried to get slaves from
Africa, Puerto Rico and Brasil. The slave trade had
‘heen declared illegal in the 1817 treaty between
England and Spain, but it was not until the 1860
{hat the British, with the assistance ofa new
US policy, actually stopped the supply of enslaved
Africans to Cuba, Enslaved Africans,
or ented by the planters, indentured Chinese,

1d wage workers ofall races worked side

her owned

br side onthe Cuban estate,

Ab lion of slavery in Cuba
I Independence rom Spin rived Alcan
Sle toot or he »

«
1870 ses
1878 Tr pence ray ening the Ten Vars War

with he Spanish sole
1679 slaves in Cubas est

1600 The Sri govermen elare an ed to
1086 Que to poets

These new Cuban plantations were very different
from the traditional ones. Due to the huge
investments, the owners needed new sources of
income, They had built railways to transport the
canes tothe central Factories and these trains also
carie other cargo, as well as passenger.

==

The rat vay in Latin America wa ui in Caba in
1837 and was used fr carrying Sugar a motas rom

"The foundry did not only make tools forthe
labourers, but also park benches and man-hole
covers to sell tothe government, Some plantations

ven had their own general stores, hotes, barber
shop and butcher's shop, which were patronized
mainly bythe plantation workers

io RENA

‘The Sana Luca mil im Gaara ha ve geeral tres,
seven gore, a shoe shop ate te barber
Shops en schoo ne contra sr, wo eating
Shops an oe lester got store

The owners benefited fom this financially They
often ended up having o pay workers only 10% of

149. the wages, since the ret had been docked in
advance for goods bought by their employees. Also
those purchases were made using sugar tokens
issued by the owners, who refused to take the
oficial paper currency issued by the Bank of Spain,
and the tokens were more than 10% off the face
value of that curreney — hat sa sugar token dolar
would buy 90 ces worth of goods instead ofa
dollars worth

These new overs were not the Cubans who had
‘once controlled the industry. As large investments
were needed for modernization, the old class of
‘Cuban planters was replace by financial
entrepreneurs from the USA and Spain, and by
1865 only 17% of owners were from the old
plantation flies. However, unlike the situation
inthe British colonies, here were few absentee
owners. Cuban and Spanish capital financed 93%
ils

ofthe sugar

Cuba depended on the US market to sustain its
sugar production. In the 1860s, Cuba supplied
60% of the USAS sugar imports with the rest

supplied mainly by Puerto Rico and Brazil. The

The Caribe eonony 1875-1985

Cuban sugar industry thrived, even afer slavery
was finally abolished in 1886, Sugar production
‘was interrupted only by two Cuban wars against
Spain: the Ten Years Wars (1868-78) and the War
of Independence (1895-98),

“The fist war actually helped the sugar industry,
since many ofthe old mills were destroyed while
the new ones were not. The war also provided
‘opportunities for Spanish and some Cubs
merchants to make huge profit from transporting
military supplies and this, along with sugar prices
tha were increased by the war, provided more
financing for modernization.

Inthe War of Independence, the Spanish
government sent 400,000 soldiers to stop the
rebels, or one soldier to every three Cubans. This
response was mainly because Spanish business

crests had invested heavily in Cuba, and it was
their money which controlled the sugar industry in
the island

‘As the industry grew in the 20th century more
labour was required, Tens of thousands of contract

19

150. labourers, mostly fom Haiti and Jamaica, arrived.
Plantation (known as hacienda) owners built
villages for ther labourers in order to keep them
close othe fields, and out ofthe big towns and
cities. Nevertheless, many workers migrated tothe
cites looking for work. With the industrialization of
the late 19¢h century bringing ri

processing and ta

done in everlarger numbers.

As we have seen, one-crop economies are sensitive
to world marke prices, the price of sugar rose
during the First World War and US companies
secured control of over half sugar industry in
‘Cuba, Wealth became concentrated among these
US shareholders and dhe Cuban elite

New agricultural enterprises
The 1897 West India Royal Commission, which
was appointed to analyse the sugar riss in the
British Caribbean, recommended agricultural
diversification asthe key to saving the economy,

the permanent welfare in the future of the
West Indies asthe settlement ofthe labouring
I peasant

ugar their po
secure... Where sugar can be completes or
very largely replaced by oe industries, he
Colonie in question will be in a much sounder

when they have ceased to depend wholly or

toa very great extent, upon the
prosperity ofa single industry?

In Jamaica and in Trinidad (ihe later united with
agp in 1889) the colonial authorities pursued
agricultural diversification a their main strategy for
saving the economies ofthe islands, New erops such

as bananas, oeoa, coffe and pine
in various colonies, Pest control measures were

expanded, and low-interest loans were given to
Farmer so they could improve the infasnucure on

thei land, dhrough irguion, roads and beter
‘equipment. These measures were somevhat

succesfl in Jamaica, The larger sugar estates were
sill making prof, but the number of plantation
workers dropped fom 30,000 in 1860 020,000 in.
1910. Instead he numberof peasant farmers
increased, especially the number growing bananas for
export After 1884, Jamaica had ceased to bea major

exporter of sugar turing instead to um

and civus fut By 1896, sugar was no lougera

roaintay ofthe Jamaican economy contributing jut
6 of the valu ofthe land exports,

By 1910 though there was sil very litle
diversification in the British Caribbean. Arrowroot
became a staple in St Vincent, and bananas were
grown in Jamaica and Belize, However, these were
allislands which had downgraded or abandoned
sugar ean. In islands where sugar cane was sila

major erop, the owners ofthe plantations opposed
agricultural diversification, This was because ifthe
workers became ‘sound and secure or small
proprietors who owned thir own land this would
reduce he planters supply of cheap labour and
land fr planting sugar.

The situation had not changed 20 years late, when
2 similar body the Olivier Sugar Commision of
1930, also noted:

“lis impossible to expect any sound permanent
development of sch culivation unless steps are
taken to enable the small cultivators to ol

and posses thei land in recho

For the smaller islands, bananas replaced sugar
asthe main cash crop. In Dominica, St Lacs,

St Vincent and Grenada banana production
increased rom 21 tons per annum in 1958 10
between 100 and 150 tons in the 1960s and
continued to hold steady in the 1980s. In the
19906, bananas contributed 5% of St Luci and

151. St Vincent GDP and 18% of Dominica's, while
employing one in every three members ofthe

islands labour force. Neal al ofthe Windward
Islands bananas are sold to the United Kingdom.

Inthe larger islands
cultivation and livestock

has Jamaica, cofle
ring became important
industries. Although production dropped afer
«emancipation it started to pick back up in the
20th century; argely because small farmers started
planting coffe. Blue Mountain coffe is now a
Brand recognized by coffee drinkers around the
world, Jamaica als entered the banana industry in
2 significant way, with many former sugar estates
becoming banana plantations. By 1914, bananas
made up just over half of Jamaica's export earings.
"The industry was controlled by a US company; the
United Fruit Company up to 1930. The island's
sugar industry also began to recover to become a
significant exporter once again in the cary
20th century:

The Caribbean

As for livestock, the rearing of cal had always,
taken place, but the industry grewin the late

19th century, with Jamaica even starting to export
‘atl to Cuba. New breeds, such asthe Jamaica
Hope and Jamaica Red, were established by
‘rost-reeding with Indian cate,

Another important crop was ic, which was
‘ultivated mainly in Guyana and Trinidad, After

ip ended on 1 January 1920, the Indian
Tabourers dominated the field - or, more precisely,

indenture

the lagoons where rice was grown. Most ofthe rice
grown in Trinidad was fr local consumption, but
by 1922 Guyana was exporting rice to other

Caribbean countries, as well as Britain and Canada.

Cocoa was another crop that once earned
significant profit, especially in Trinidad, where the
genetic variety made the islands cocoa popular
with chocolate manufacturers around the world By
1900, cocoa was Trinidad’ most valuable export

as

152. 152

‘crop, and by 1920 it accounted for 49% of
‘Tenidad’s non-petroleum exports, earning over

£1.5 milion. Cocoa prices were especialy high
during the two world wars In 1928 though, the
(00a tees were hit by witchbroom disease,

‘The government provided farmers with financial
assistance and new seedlings, although it was
mainly the larger cocoa farmer who benefited fom
this. The industry never totally recovered,

A major non-sugar and processed product was
bier, erated by the Siegert family who had started
their business in 1824 in Angostura in Venezuela
but who came to Trinidad in 1875, Their brand,
Angostra Bitters is famous worldwide as an
ingredient in mixed drinks and cocktail.

‘The Caribbean countries were also often ata
disadvantage when it came to selling crops inthe
international market, For example, Britain had
been the major buyer of ines, but artificial cio
acid was developed and the British importers
also started buying from producers in the
Mediterranean to reduce transport costs.

Similar Caribbean fruit had to compete in Europe
‘with larger suppliers from South America, South
Aiea and the Middle Eas, Grenada, known as
“The Spice Isle, had to compete with products kom
India and Zanzibar, while couon producers found
sales dropping as artificial materias such as
polyester became more widely used to make clothes.

Inthe 1980s, neal al he CARICOM governments
teed to introduce agricultural diversification
programmes. The gal was to increase the nummer of
different crops beyond the standard bananas oft,
sugar ice and citas Fst. Growing more tropical
fruit for export was key focus. Mangoes, avocados
(caboca), pineapple, paw-paw (papaya), sour-sop and
passion rut were considered the most potentially
profitable, Some ofthe Windward Islands did
increase production of tubers and fruit. Dominic is.
the leading exporter of plantain in the region, caring
an average of USSI milion evry yea from the crop.
St Vincent and the Grenadines isthe main exporter
foot crops. However, most ofthese programmes
filed wo achieve significant changes.

153. Paz

Tourism

“Tourism in the Caribbean began at the end ofthe
19th century and most vistors came for health

reasons. Given what you have readin carir
chapters ofthis book about the diseases and the
hardships of he tropical climate his is ironic. But
‘one hundred years ago, as now, tourist from
Europe and North America came tothe Caribbean
to escape their cold winters A 1905 tourist
Brochure fom British our company promoted
Jamaica for its “warm, healthy climate
‘recommended by the medical ficult

Shipping
nsas “Winter

lines advertised trips under such slo
in the West Indies”

‘The colonial history of the region largely
determined where the visitors from various
metropolitan counties came to within the
Caribbean. Thus, British tourists went mostly to
Barbados and Jamaica; French tourists went to
Martinique; and Dutch ones to Curagao. At that
time, North Americans went mainly tothe
Bahamas and Cuba, because these sland were
nearest othe Florida coast, Nearly all these
tourists were wealthy, since commercial ar travel
would only become affordable o ordinary people
in the 1960s, Even 0, the early tourist industry

was proftable enough for hotels to be built even
in the 19th century. The Royal Victorian Hotel in
the Bahamas was opened in 1861; the Crane
Beach hotel in Barbados started operations in
1887; and in Jamaica the Mandeville, the
Titchfield and the Myrl Bank hotels were built
in the 1880s, Between 1890 and 1969, 106 hotels
were opened in Jamaica, Cuba was a favoured
destination for American tourists, o that by 1915,
there were 72 hotels on the island, with more than
‘one-third of them located in the capital city,
Havana. By the 1950s, tourism was Cuba's

second largest earner of foreign exchange, after

(6.62 The cartbean es

om 1975-1985

sugar, with ove 900 000 visitors coming to the
island every year. In Jamaica and the Bahamas in
the 1940s, afer the Second World Wat foreign
investors were wooed to develop th wurst
industry in the islands, Between 1949 and 1961
in the Bahamas, hotels and casinos were built and
tourist arrivals increased from 30 000 0 565 000
a year. In 1958 in Jamaica, over $2 milion was
Spent to build new hotels, but even in the decade
before tha the number of roms in the island had
increased five-fold

“Tourism started overtaking suger sa major
source o income in the 1960s, when the long-haul
Jet acroplane made ar travel between the
metropolitan cies and he region quick, any, and
Afordable, This allowed the development ofa new

tourist market catering to less wealthy visitors,
even as the luxury market also continued forthe
mul-milionaires, Because ofthis new mass
market, metropolitan-based hotel chains and tour
operators began looking atthe region asa
potential source of new profits Some the world’s
richest people even purchased some smal islands

the Rockefellers bought part of St John's in the
US Virgin Islands. In 1967, the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) reported that tourism in the Caribbean
vas “a promising new resource for economic
development”. Tourists have now become more
valuable than sugar-cane inthe old sugar-based
economies such as Barbados, the Dominican
Republic Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Islands such as the Dominican Republic, Antigua,
Barbados, Grenada, St Kits-Nevis and the
Bahamas now eam more from tourism tha from
all other sectors

Many ofthe Caribbean countries, especially the
smaller islands, depend on tourism to generate
revenue, cam foreign exchange and provide
‘employment for their citizens. Tourism does not
‘only involve visitors from other countries coming to
stay in hotels or guesthouses. includes cruise
ship visits, yachting, cultural activities (such as
music concerts and dance performances) nature
sites (such as wildife sanctuaries, hiking tai and

153

154. 154

coral reftous), and sports (or example
international cricket competitions and golf
tournaments). Visitor tothe Caribbean are mainly
thestay-over vos or tourists who spend a dy or

more ina particular destination, as well as cruise

ship passengers who usually stay fr less than a day
since their tour includes several destinations.
‘The other main category of tourists are people on

yachts, who may stayin one place for weeks, The
business ofchartring yachts for pleasure started in
the 1960s and was operated mainly by private
individuals who owned just one boat. In the 1980s,
the industry became a multi-million dollar business
as companies began operating charter and fishing,
services fr tourists. Despite this, most Ca

governments did not create the infrastructure
needed to facilitate the industry. Charter

companies are still mostly foreign-owned
The Caribbean's warm weather and is proximity
to the USA have made it the leading destination in
the world for cruise ships and yachts, Neatly

10 million tourists, or almost half the total who
visi the Caribbean per year, come tothe region by
this route. Additional draws for this segment of
thetourst market are the Antigua Sail Week atthe
end of April and the St Maarten Heineken Regatta
in he first week of March

{Asie sun, sea and san approach has become
less effective in auracting vistors, Caribbean
governments and tour companies have begun to
promote ‘niche tourism’ ~ chat is, advertising to
tourists who have special travel interests, Such
niche markets are catered to by community tourism
(tours of ilages, showing how ordinary Caribbean
people ive, heritage (tours of historial sites and
building) and eco-tourism (nature tours). Hoteliers
ealso trying to get greater share ofthe
conference and business tourism market. Another
approach has been to target the high-end tourism
market. Such people expect the best services and
products, and pay alot for them. The advantage of

such a lintele is that, even when there isan
economic downturn in their countries, as in he

‘mid-1980s and in 2008, they continue to travel and
buy luxury goods, whereas the average person from

the USA or Europe may either taken
costs area major expense of

2m Europe and the USA to

since ransportatio
sm package

total tou
the Car ay choose à cheaper
destination, perhaps within their own country.

The money eared from tourist benefits several
sectors. Tourist dollar go fist 0 those people
direct involved in he industry, such as hotel
‘owners or the workers employed here. People
selling caf items, or local foods at tourist sites
along with tour companies and guides alo benefit
«economica. Tourism also helps to bolster other
economie activites, such as construction (not only
hotels, but general infrastructure such as roads

must be provided for visitors convenience),
‘communications (tourists are ls likely to visit an
island which does not have fs and reliable Internet
service or cell-phone roaming), transportation and
‘ven manufacturing. Some countries get as much as
50% oftheir GDP from tourism as an industry:
‘These islands include Anguilla, Antigua and
Barbuda, Grenada and St Luca. The amount of
money spent directly by tourists (not including
multiplier effects as his money travel through the
economy) contributes 17% of Jamaica's GDP, 139%
‘ofthe GDP of Barbados and just 2% ofthe GDP.
of Trinidad and Tobago.

Forthe region as a whole, he per capita expenditure
per visitors USS3,197. In other words, is she
amount of money every Caribbean person would get
ifthe money spent by tourists were to be divided
ul: Per capita value in the sector range from
more han US$ 13,000 in the Cayman Islands to
just US$7 in Haiti The Bahamas has a per capita
visitor expenditure of US$5,000, St Luca

USS1,713 and Jamaica USS433.

However not al this money actual stay in the
region, because ofa lo fit goes back to travel

ncies, hotel chains and other businesses which
are based in the USA and Europe, Caribbean
governments encourage foreign and local investors
to build hotels and other faites by giving them
tax concessions and tx holidays fora number of
years, including duty-ree imports of som it
and materials

155. Tourism has become even more important in the
2st century with the number of visitors tothe

region increasing from 16 million per year in the
1990s to nearly 22 million now. Two out of
every hundred tourists worldwide come tothe
Caribbean, This ia very good share of the tours
market, considering how small the region i. With
such large increase in vistors over the past
decade, accommodation fr tourists has also
increased, In 1995, the region had just 122,000
‘establishments for tourists to say in. By 2000,
there were 900,000 such places, ranging fiom
hotels to guest houses, o apartments, to homes
offering bed and breakfast.

In 1985, tourists spent about US$6 billion very
yearin the region; in 1995, the total spent went up
to USSI4 billion; and by 2000, tourists were
spending almost US$20 billion. Most of these
visitors are from the USA and Europe, although in

recent times tourists from Japan and China have

sun to increase, The USA isthe main source of

visitors for the region, accounting for over half of
the total numberof tourist arrivals This is
followed by Europe, with one in every four tourists
‘coming from that continent, Intra-Caribbean
tourism, which means residents from one island
visting another, represents 6% of the total, Fora
tap ofthe CARICOM counties (ee Chapter $
page 201), the US market represents 38% ofall
visitors, followed by internal Caribbean travel at
28% then Europe at 29%,

The total quality ofthe tourism product
determines what destination travellers choose
Tourist want high-quality services delivered in

an efficient and timely manner, They also want

wider variety of attractions and services, and this
is why the sun, sea and sand strategy in the
Caribbean has been working less effectively

stead, entertainment events such as Carnival in

inidad and Tobago, Reggae Sunsplash in
Jamaica andthe St Lucia Jazz Festival have become
important draws or visitors to the region

However, the tourist market has not expanded
significantly in the region asa whole.

6.02 The catbean

my 1875-1985

Industrialization

By the erly 20th century, agriculture was not
providing enough money orjobs for dhe growing
population in he Caribbean, Since land is imite, it
‘an only produce so many crops, which can only be
sold for so much money. While technology had
increased the amount of yields per acre, land use
had peaked in Barbados and the Leeward Islands by
the ate 1th century and in Jamaica and Trinidad
by 1917. This was mainly because the former
islands had been seed earlier han the later

Asa result, people started to think about
developing the manufacturing, ining and oil
industries in the region. It was considered more
productive to use the land to build factories, as well
as hotels than to plant crops. By 1879, Trinidad
had begun to produce soap, coconut il and
asphalt. In the 1950s, most ofthe British Caribbean
colonies were implementing policies to develop the
manufacturing sector.

However there were several barriers to
industialization including:

© scarce capital resources
© lack offuel

© limited knowledge ofindustry
few workers with technical kill
© fewentrepreneurs,

"This mean that the countries in the region ad to
depend on foreign investors who would provide the
money to sar various industries, bringin
personnel to do more specialized tasks and also
tran Caribbean workers in these jobs. However,

the governments in the region had to give these
investors incentive to setup factories inthe
islands. Some of these incentives were:

© taxbreaks
© protection from foreign competition
© tax exemption on aw materials capital

and equipment.
At the time, here was alist of industries which
‘were considered the best investments. These
included garment making (making shirts,
stockings, gloves and hats), lather goods (shoes

155

156. 156

and belt) jewellery and items such as umbrella,
cardboard boxes, toys and pens. Fw ofthese
industries were ever started, however, and fewer
sill became profitable. By contrast, some
industries which had been considered

infavourable in the 1930s and 1940s were doing
fairly well by the 1960s, These included
production of fertilizers, milk, margarine, cement,
china, bee, cal food, soap and paint; grain
nilling; and petroleum refining,

Countries such a Jamaica and Tinidad and!
“Tobago, tripled their manufacturing output
between the 1950s andthe erly 1960s, This was
partly because these countries along with Guyana,
had natural resources: ol in Trinidad and Tobago,
bauxite in Jamaica and Guyana, Jamaica, and
vidad and Tobago, alo developed what were

called “screndrivr industries’ industries based
on automobiles radios, television, aluminium,
steel, rubber and plastic, They were called
screwdriver industries because, in many ofthese
factories, the workers only put together parts to
make the finished product, This was profitable for
the foreign investor, because Caribbean workers
were paid less than their counterpart in the
metropolitan countries

By 1967, petroleum and its by-products were a
‘major export from Trinidad and Tobago, as were
bauxite and alumina from Jamaica and Guyana.
Aer the 1970, industrial activities centred around

consumer goods, such as food, beverages,
cigarete, garments, bricks and furniture, Table 64
shows the increase in the manufacturing sector in

various countries over 21-year period.
Country 2984 6%)
Barbados sr
Sana 2
naa] RST NS
St Luca 5

“Ti a D
Tota. ER

The manufacturing sector faced several problems,
however, which stymied is development. The
products had high costs and were ofien poor
‘quality. For these reasons, most firms were only able
to sell them within their counties or within the
region. Manufacturers therefore ended up using
more foreign exchange than they eared. In this
vay the sector weakened rather han strengthened
the region's economy

Addition
industrialization policy on an individual country
Bass, rather than in cooperation with the other
islands, which put the entire sector ata
disadvantage in negotiating with foreign investors
and in ensuring that each island specialized only
inthe particular products it was good at
producing,

ly; each government adopted an

Perhaps most negatively ofall, none of the
Caribbe

governments changed their education
systems to equip ther citizens for an
industrialized economy: The focus in the 1960s
and 1970s remained on increasing the numberof
schools and school places rather than changing
the curricula, Trinidad and Tobago did introduce
technical subjects, such as auto mechanics,
electrical sis and plumbing, in the 1970s in the
state-run schools, but these programmes were
intended to cater to the les academically able and
did not create a cadre of technically competent
people at the level required for an advanced
‘manufacturing economy. Generally, the
Caribbean’ education system did not help
produce scientifically or entrepreneurially
minded individuals.

Some ofthe traits needed
analytical thinking, risk aking and questioning of
accepted practices - were indeed usually
discouraged in the region’ schools. This isto
some extent ahold-over from history, when the

colonial and church-run education system was

intended to produce only people who had

practical skills useful forthe metropolitan

‘economy, but not tothe extent where they might
lance or gain the

ion authority

achieve economic self
knowledge to ques

157. eee - =

Effects of industrialization
In 1928, sugar pla

ters told the Olivier Sugar
Commision that the cd workers refused to work,
and never showed up on Mondays because they
drank too much bad rum over the weekend — a
problem, said the planters, which could be solved

by good rum. The sugar planters, who were trying,
10 get financial support from the British
government, sid

noting in their report that here was no problem

geting workers in the sugar factores, oilfields or
Pause mines. They end.
“The feld work is conducted upon a fallacious
industrial dheory that itis better deal with lay
and without pressure on the lowest subsistence
wages, whereas in the factory the economy
dominates practice.”

This implies that industraliation may have had a
good social effet, since workers were more likely to
be fi treated and prosper than under a sugar
based economy. An industrial economy is one
which is based on the production of mineral,
‘manufacturing and processing. The simplest
industrial activity is mining, This involves the
extraction of mineral resources, such as baute or

gold, as well as drilling for erude oil and natural gas
Processing is the next stage, where raw material are
refined in some way. You have read about this
process in respect to sugar cane, where ening
involved making brown sugar into white, or
molasses into rum. Processing in respect to
mineral would involve making bauxite into
‘lumina or ol into petroleum, Manufacturing is the
highest tage of industrialization. As you have read,
England became the world’s most powerful nation
mainly by processing cotton into eloth and cloth
into clothes. More important, the English
developed machines which dd these things, and
that technological knowledge lt them invent other
machines, Manufacturing can therefore involve
‘minerals, food products or machinery.

Why did the Ca
being an agricultural economy for so long? In 195
W Arthur Levis identified overpopulation asthe

bean need to industrlize afer

main reason. An economy based on agriculture
simply could not support the needs of the
Caribbean population, These needs included not
just food, but jobs, anspor, health, education and
‘other requirements ofthe modem world, Lewis
argued that in Europe one square nile of cultivable

land was needed t support just over 50 average
families ata subsistence level ofliving (hat is, to
provide the basics offood, clothing and shelter,
with no extra resources left sell or buy),

Levi pointed out that in the Caribbean islands,
Jess than half the land was usually suitable for
cultivation, Jamaica for example, could only

support a population density of 80 people per
square mile at subsistence level, whereas the actual
population density in 1950, when Lewis was
‘writing, was 204 people per square mile. Even
the smaller islands, he population density per
square mile was similarly high: 257 inthe Leeward
Islands, 282 in Trinidad and Tobago, 306 inthe
Windward Islands and a whopping 1,159 in

Barbados. Eventhough mechanization,
advancements in culation techniques and, most
recent genetic engineering increased the yields
per acre, these Factors also meant that fewer workers
‘were needed in agriculture, Therefore, other

157

158. 158

sources of production and revenue generation had!
tobe found, and industrialization as a key sector

Howerer, he fact that these ideas began to be
discussed inthe 1950s was not coincidental, since
it was shortages caused by the Second World War
which made a light manufacturing sector in the
Caribbean viable. Europe's economy had been
devastated bythe war, and in the interim there was

an economic vacuum that other counties, which
had not seen thee infrastructure destroyed and
their population decimated,

a step infil.

In ll industrial economies, thee factors are crucial;
markets resources (commodities or human
resources) and economic policy In respect 10
markets, size was a crucial problem in the
Caribbean - there were not enough people to
provide a viable internal market. In 1950, Lewis
estimated that there was a need for 413,000 extra
Jobs in the British Caribbean territories, This
region would also be the market to buy the goods
produced by these workers. However, because of
the poverty in the Caribbean, many ofthese people
would not buy manufactured goods, since most of
their money would be spent on food and
accommodation. If therefor, the Caribbean was to
‘create and support viable manufacturing sector,
two conditions were necessary: a etter standard of
living fr the population (consumers) and export
‘of manufactured goods outside the region, since the
domestic market wast small to provide the level
‘of consumption needed to make manufacturing

profitable.

Which industrie were chosen depended on these
thee main fctors

© Relatively small capital per worker was needed,
(© There should below energy consumption
© Industry should not be concentrated in

one place,

Let's explain these three factors The fist means
thatan industry which needed lt of investment
in, say; machinery, would not be suitable. The
second factor means that, because fue is expensive,
dusties which did not use much energy would be
more likely to succeed and he final actor means

at an indu

ich had many manufacturing
locations (like biscuit making) would have more
Alesibilcyin setting up.

ty inition farsi ty Noy

Lewis recommended that Caribbean governments
‘woo foreign capital and capitalist to set up
businesses in the region, strategy which became
Known as industralizaion by invitation’

However pary fr historical reasons, most
Caribbean poliician and many ordinary

Caribbean people distrusted such investors,
Instead, most Caribbean governments decided to
pursue nationalization, where the state took over
private businesses. The main objective inthe
1950s was to create jobs, and several Caribbean

countries adopted a half-way approach to
industilization, whereby the emphasis was on
the assembly of goods which had inthe past been
‘imported whole and the final freign-made

products were subject to high duties which made
them affordable only toa wealthy minority

Forexample in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1970s,
car assembly plants were created where workers put
together imported pants, usual from Japan, to create
a product that was sold on the local market. Cars
‘manufactured by this method were usally flower
ality than ose made in Japan and they cot more
“The rationale was that Trinidad and Tobago would
eventually achieve its own car making capabilities,
“This never happened and, although some
‘employment vas provided through these plants, the
‘capital intensive nature of uch firms mean that ew

jobs were created relative tothe sizeof the investment

‘made, Lewis had varned against hi, writing:

«Ac ther present low standard oflving the
number of persons for whom West Indians can

provide employment in manufictues by thee

‘own purchases is extremely small This applies

extra employment, but aso tothe em

159. I usualy overlooked

The approach taken by Caribbean govemments meant
that such industries were often supported by the state
through tax dollars and benefited most those who
wer already well-off: Another effet ofthis import
saben" policy was that inancial and human
resources went into actes that ha protectionist
Parier and were therefore safe, rather han businesses
which were economica viable and uy
entrepreneur. There was lo litle coordination
between the teitoie

Jeaingto duplication and
vaste ofregional resources. The high costs of

production and the ofen low quality of manufictured

goods mean that sales of tem had been largely
confined to the regional market. The sector between
the 1950s and 1980s generally used more foreign
exchange (1 uy he materials and sometimes services
edad for manictring) than teamed,

In addition, his preoccupation with
indusrializaon resulted in the sidelining of
agriculture for nearly thee decades, despite
sporadic atempts at diversification of crops. Lewis
ad also sounded a warning about this, writing:
The creation of new industiesisan

country Manufacturing
o O A Ze
Gonna se
aaa ass 0
st cla 532
TOTANA ea
Trinidad an Tiboo 19175

668 Te Cartbean economy 1875-1985,

"Table 6.8 shows the growth in
selected Caribbean countries.

anufacturing
here was an

case in all counties except Trinidad and
Tobago, where the manufacturing sector went into a
slump due tothe energy bust in the 1980s,
Manufacturing inthe region has concentrated

on consumer goods. These include simple
‘manufactures such as food and beverages,

cigarettes, bricks and furniture, as well as assembly
operations on products ranging from motor
vehicles to small appliances such as toasters and
electrical fans

Au the time governments in the Caribbean were
toying to create a manufacturing sector while
discouraging foreign investors, several East Asian
rations, which in the 1950s were economically on
par with, or even below the Caribbean, followed the
Levis strategy: A half-century later, Singapore is
among the most developed rations in the work, as
are Taiwan, South Korea and Malasia. While other

factors, such as size, were important in contributing
to East Asian economic success, the open-door and

‘export-oriented policy proved more effective in
‘creating wealth than the protectionist policy
adopted by many Caribbean countries

In 1950, with regard o barriers to industrializtion,
Levis said

‘West Indian nationals p ak

ns
frequently a if manafacari
red a lage pr

table market which greedy
foreign capitalists are anxious to exploit. They
restrictions which they would like to impose
on such capitalists, and they oppose monopoly

The West Indies does not offer large market

There are very few manufacturers who wish to
ao there, Having regard tothe highly developed
industrial centres which exist in many parts of

the word, offering every convenience and to

to attract industry, it would be surprising if any

159

160. 160

arge number of manufacturers were wiling
he West
substantial concessions

being offered

Manufacturing was only one fice of the attempt to
industrilize. Even before this, mineral processing
dustrial activity in the

vas the main ype of

region. As you have learned by now, the Caribbean
as mainly been a producer of av materials. The
region has only two major mineral resources oil
and baute, the first mainly located in Trinidad, the
Tate in Jamaica and Guyana,

Crude oil and natural gas
Oiland natural gas are located mainyin Trinidad.

The sand had begun to industraiodurin the te
196 century. The land petroleum industry started
developing in the early 201 century. The Merrimac
Company dile the couts fist exploratory oil
wel toa depth of 61 metres in 1857. This well was
drshowever. The frst wel hat found oil was red
in 1866 by an US engineer named Captain Walter
Darwent. Despite this early exploratory success, the
‘commercial exploitation ofthe county's rude oi
reserves did ot start unl 1908,

The ol companies were al foreign-owned. From
1905 to 1920, the number of employees in the
stor grew from just a handful o over 4,000.

ina Leascholds was the largest company,
‘employing about 1,500 people, It had oilfields in
three main areas inthe southern part ofthe island
There were eight other fey large companies and
several smaller ones,

For the next 60 years, the emphasis was on the
production ofenude sil. In 1963, commission vas
established by the government with the following
terms of reference

o examine the present situation and future

rospects ofthe ol industry of Trinidad and

obago in the context ofthe economics of the

world ol industry.

2 To recommend a legal framework for the oil
industry of Tánidad and Tobago which would

stimulate the operations of foreign investors
while safeguarding the interests of the nation

3 To make recommendations designed to ensure

the greatest possible stability compatible with
growth in the industry, including the level of
employment

‘The recommendations of this report led o major
change in the legislation hat governed petroleum
activities in the country and broadened the mandate
ofthe Ministry of Petroleum and Mines which had
only been established in 1963, Other significant
event included the government’ purchase of
British Petroleum sassts in 1969, the establishment
of The Trinidad and Tobago National Peroleu
Marketing Company in 1972 and dhe formation of
the National Gas Company in 1975,

In lat 1973, world ol prices increased fourfold. In
this decade, when many of the world’s economics
entered a deep recession because ofthis rise,
Trinidad and Tobago's economy experienced
annual growth of 9.0% from 1974 to 1979.
However, because the government spent most of

this mone; inflation alo rose four-fold,
reducing any real buying power

Emphasis was placed on crude oi production,
‘wile natural gas was ignored eventhough gas
had been used as an energy source before crude
oil. In the earlier part ofthe 20th century; he

industrial use of natural gas was limited tothe oil
field or refinery operations ofthe petroleum
sector. Inthe 1950s, however, this changed.

‘This process started in 1953 when the electricity
company began using natural gas for the
generation of electricity at its Peal power station.
Inthe late 1960s, significant reserves of natural
pas were discovered during exploration activities
off the east const of Trinidad,

Bauxite
he mining and processing of bauxite in Jamaica
started in the mid-20th century although the
mineral had been discovered several years before.
During he Second World War, there was a demand
for bauxite to make aluminium. Guyana was already

producing bauxite and its reserves had a higher
alumina content - six ton of Jamaican bauxite were

161. needed to make one ton ofaluminium, compared
with four tons of Guyanese bauxite

Initial Iower-qualiy bauxite made processing
economically unfeasible for Jamaica. However, as
the processing methods became more
technologically advanced, the advantages of
Jamaica’s bauxite ofset the lower alumina content.
These advantages were as follows.

© Jamaica ad large reserves.
© The rock was near the surface so excavation
© Freight costs tothe USA were low

When the Second World War ended, Canadian and
US companies set up bauxite processing plants,
sing the tes technology: In the 1940, with
developing industries and increased export, the
por cities became commercial centres and more
Jamaicans lf the countryside in seal of

the urban centres. Inthe 1960s, tourism started to

play a bigger roe inthe economy, and both bauxite
and agricultural exports grew

The amount of bausite mined rose from 400,000
tons in 1952 to over 12 milion tons in 1972.
Jamaica is now

third largest bauxite producer
inthe world. Mining is carried out by open-pit
‘methods, which means hat no miners work
underground. The topsoil is clare from a few
cres and the underlying bauxite is removed with
Hg mechanical shovels. A 50-aee plot can yield
over 5 million tons ofbausite. Some ofthe mining,

Companies export the raw material to alumina

factories in the USA. Other companies extract the
alumina on sites in Jamaica,

Jamaica also has small deposits of other uscfal
‘minerals sich as marble and silica and ores of
‘copper lead, xine, manganese and ron. Silica sand
found near the Black Rivers n

hotles. Bat guano, found in caves in limestone

de into glass

areas suse locally as fertilizer as iis rch in
phosphates. Mining accounts for 9% ofthe GDP
and employs about 6,000 people. From 1993 to
1997, manufacturing produced §2 billion in
exports, mostly to the USA. The industry accounts
for 19% of GDP, employs 9.4% ofthe workforce

and has become a significant part of the
Jamaican economy

G

major exports. The frst published report of
bausite, by Sir John Harrison, appeared in the
Oficial Gazete of 16 June 1910. In 1914, the
Demerara Bausite Company Limited (Demba),
‘owned by Aluminum Company of America (Ala),
secured eases around the Mackenzie
bauxite deposits had been found. Mining started in
1917. The industry was controlled by foreign
companies until dhe early partof the 1970, when
the government nationalized them.

ana also mines baute, which is one ofits

Guyana achieved political independence in 1966,
but the economy was stil controlled by foreign
‘owned compan

es: Two particularly important
firms were the Briish companies Booker
MeConnell and Jessel Securities, which owned
the country’s largest sugar estates In the carly
1970s, Booker MeConnell accounted for almost
one third of Guyana's GDP, producing 85% of
Guyana’s sugar, employing 13% of the workforce
and earning more than $0% ofthe country’s
foreign exchange.

‘Two other foreign companies controlled th mining
sector the Demerara Bauxite Company (Demba),
à subsidiary ofthe Aluminum Company of

(Alcan) which bought the company from its
American owners in 1929: and the Reynolds
Bauxite Company a subsidiary ofthe Reynolds
Metals Company in the USA. These companies,
in their turn accounted for almost half of the
nation’ foreign exchange earings.

The Forbes Burnham government, which took
fie in 1964, saw continued foreign domination of
the economy as an obstacle to progres. In 1970
Burham proclaimed Guyana s the world's rst

“cooperative republic’. During the 1970s, Guyana
nationalized the major companies operating in the
‘country. Demba became a state-owned corporation
in 1971,a8 did the Reynolds Bauxite Company in

161

162. 162

1974.Jessl Securities was alo nationalized
1975.In 1976 the government nationalized the
huge Booker MeConnell company: By the late
1970s, the government controlled over 80% ofthe
‘country’s firms including compan

retil and distribucion. This n
have a negative im

o involved in
ioalizaton was to

ct on the Guyanese economy

Bauite production, which had dropped fom
3 million tons per year inthe 1960s to 2 milion tons
in 1971, flo 1.3 million tons by 1988. Similar
sugar production declined from 390,000 tons in
1976 to about 245,000 tons in the mid+1980s, and
had declned to 168,000 tons by 1988. Rice
production never again reached its 197 peak of
210,000 ons. By 1988, national output of ice was
almost 40% lower han in 1977.

Despite this emphasis on natural resources, the
Caribbean region has been able to industrialize at
the secondary level (processing) and even atthe
tertiary level (manufacturing) to some extent. In
the Caribbean between 1960 and 1980, exports
of goods and services per capita rose fiom
USS350 to US$3,250. However, this isthe mean
average forthe Anglophone Caribbean, and the
nerease is mostly due toa small number of

successful counties,

Industriliaion has also had good effects on
‘employment for women. When the agricultural
sector began declining in the early 20th century
many women had to stay at home because most of
the availble jobs went to men, Between 1911 and
1943 in Jamaica, for example, he number of
employed women dropped from 78% ofthe female
to just 50%, Between 1891 and 1946 in

populati
the Leeward Islands, the ratio dropped fom
to 48%. This was not because women did not want
to work In Jamaica in the 19405, 98% of females
aged between 15 and 24 wanted a job but had been
‘unable to find one. In the same period when the

‘numberof employed women declined from three
quarters 1 just half the total number of women,
137,000 new jobs were created outside the
agricultural sector These were mainly in domestic
services (32,000) trade (25,000), construction

(21,000) and manufacturing (12,000). Women
main went into the fist wo aras.

However, manufacturing firms, especially those
involved in the garment industry, provided jobs
for women. Industriaizaton in general has also
broadened the number ofoccupations pursued
by Caribbean peopl, sine manufacturing and
processing activities require more machine
operators, laboratory technicians, mechanics
and so 0

Effects of industazation on women
© Tree se in e employment of
© women

© Incas sare cer,

© viene sol organization were estab

Industrialization also increased the number of
people living in cites and towns as compared to
villages inthe countryside, This is known as
urbanization. Urbanization occurs because
individuals move to the urban arcas seeking better
jobs and opportunites, While urbanization has
both good and bad effets, in the Caribbean it has
often led to an increase in violent crime, Also, as
the population in the cities and towns grows,
more amenities, for example water and electricity
supplies, have tobe bui and this often means
that the rural areas receive les attention in

this respect

=——_

163. REVISION QUESTIONS

1 examine te potes sur panes acd in 3 a. Give wo reasons why Brith Wes nan goverents

pestemarpation pried ane dicas he made which State searching for altmate sures income by
5 OT gS marks) For any ore names Catbean terior state tee

Y S 5 (25 marks) 5 (ota = 25 mars)

References and recommended reading

163

164. The USA in the Caribbean
1776-1985

The USA remains the most powerful, and influential,
nation in the world. as the largest economy the
strongest military force and the most popular
cultural products (fms, music and books). As such,

whatever the USA does, or does not do, affects many

‘other countries, As the Caribbean is geographical

close tothe USA, heislands have always been a

consideration in the policies ofthe US government

Inthe 18th and 19th centuries, his consideration
to do with trade

Because during thse times the Caribbean vas one of
the most valuable regions in he word

After independence in 1776, the USA had two.
main objectives in respect o other countries, Firs,
it wanted to prevent European countries from

1607 Engin colons farm astiement
1776 Congress a

1780 Orta

164

interfering inthe America; second, it wanted to
expand across the North American continent, The
first aim was stated in the Monroe Doctrine

(sce page 166). The second aim started with the
purchase of Louisiana in 103, then the
acceptance o Texas asa state of he union when
thatareadeclard its independence from Mexico.
in 1896, The USA then went to war with Mexico
from 1846 o 1848 in order to acquire more

territory. In return fora payment of USS15
millon, the Americans obtained he land whieh
now makes up the states of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Uta. Hawai

165. ‘Anew sms to have come

Teas after this year that dhe USA became the
main power in the Caribbean, replacing Briain
and France, and Spain, which the USA had
declared war on in 1898 over the Spanish
government’ fslur to control rebelion in Cuba
The quote from the Washington Post newspaper
reflects the new perspective on conquest inthe
USA. Britain had its own problems, fighting a war
in South Africa (he Boer War) and being worried
about the increasing power of Germany, and 0.
twas amenable to another nation managing
Caribbean matters, Germany, in fact, was the only
other powerful nation which briefly challenge the
USA in the region. Although Germany did not
have any Caribbean and South Ameri

it did have significant business interests in
Venezuela. When,

olonie,

1901, Venezuela filed to pay

Back loans to German businesses, Germany sent
warships o the region to block Venezuelan
harbours until the debts were paid. Germany's
leader, Kaiser Wilhelm I, held that Germany

should have control of Latin America and Cuba
should be made into a European state Kalan and
French warships also became active in the
Caribbean fr similar reasons, and this caused the
USA to warn the European countries about
interfering with US interests inthe region. also
led to US President Theodore Roosevelt declaring
that the USA would police the Caribbean to
safeguard the region,

US involvement in Haiti was caused not only by
historical trade tes, but because the US did not
want the Germans to take control ofthe strategically
important deep-water harbour at Mole St Nicolas.

US military forces became even more active in the
Caribbean after Roosevelt's declaration. They
invaded Cuba and the Dominican Republic

7 GA Te USA inthe Crean 2776-1985

tering Cuba twice more in 1906 and 1917. The
US scored 'tiple-20* during the fis 20 years of
the 20th century, the USA launched 20 military
invasions of countries in the Caribbean and

Central America.
During the Second World War (1939-1945), US
dominance in the region was sealed. German
submarines were a threat to Caribbean shipping
which Britain, occupied by bate in Europe and
Africa, could not properly defend, The USA

stepped into this breach

No picture of our Future is complet
which does not contemplate and comprehend
the United States as the dominant power in

In the 20th century, especially after 1950,
US considerations were political rather than

economic, having to do with opposing the Union
‘of Soviet Socialist Republis (the USSR or Soviet
Union) and communism. This was because the
position ofthe Caribbean islands, in Americas
backyard, made these countries, along with
Central America, strategically important tothe
USA, incase a war broke out between the USA
and the USSR.

Inthe 1970, the USA, led by President Jimmy
Carter, took a more diplomatic approach to
Caribbean and Latin American issues. The Carter
administration transferred control of the Panama
Canal from the USA to the government of
Panama, and prevented military rule in the
Dominican Republic after the 1978 election.

Carter was replaced by Ronald Reagan in 1981,
however and this new president sought to
increase the USA's military power and

its presence in the region and in

vin America

165

166. During Reagan’s first term as US president, newly
‘ected Caribbean leaders sought closer ties with
the USA. These leaders included Edward Seaga
in Jamaica, Tom Adams in Barbados, Eugenia
Charles in Dominica (not to be confused with the
Dominican Republic) and Herbert Blaize
Grenada. These leaders platforms were based on
the ned for foreign investment and aid from the
USA. A plan from the USA, called the Caribbean
Basin Initiative, was supposed to strengthen
economie ties between the USA and the region.

However this plan did not compensate for the
recession of the 1980s, which saw rising inflation,
less employment and growing debt in most
Caribbean territories.

Basin native Hast bene ted te

Inthe 21st century following the break-up of
the USSR and with globalization, the Caribbean
is mo longer as economically or politically
significant to the USA. However, the trade in
illegal naeoties, as wells concerns about
terrorism taking hold in the region, makes
Caribbean security an ongoing concern for the
US government.

RU

Beten 1898 an 1934, tee were about 30 separate
rar intervention by ne USA ln ine Caria

By understanding the roe of the USA, therefore,
you can better understand the history of our
region. First, we will Look at some ofthe events in
the 19th century involving US-Caribbean trade
Then we will look at the 20th century and US
actions in specific countries such as II
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republi
and Panama. Finally, we will examine the impact
‘ofthe USA on Caribbean pois, its econo

d culture

16

‘The Monroe Doctrine

© Tre Meroe Dace, precisas on 2
ours he ameras(Suth an Cetra
Ameca and the Carra»

© twas named afer Preset Janes Monos
(1788-163, th preset of te USA, whe

plot ne USA,

© tr 2905, Preset Tess Rosa ae

167. The Union of Soviet Sacalst
Republic (USSR)

The USA and the British Caribbean

in the 18th century

In he 18th century, America was a major market For
sugar and num from the Caribbean In return; the
Americans supplied the islands with the lumber
needed

make barres for shipping the sugar, as
las food supplies such a four, con, herrings,
pork, beef and other supplies, These supplies were
sed mostly to fed th enslaved Africans on the
plantations. So when the War of American
Independence started in 1775, it caused many
problems forthe British Caribbean colones, These
problems continued even aftr the war ended in
1789, because the British government, stung tits
defeat by the Americans, imposed trade restrictions
between its Caribbean colonies and the USA. On
2 July 1783, the British authorities issued an Order
in-Cownal based on the Navigation Act principle
which excluded the USA from colonial markets
Supplies forthe Caribbean colon
come from Canada and Irland. The Caribbean
governor

‘supplies from these two sources would not be
salient. This turned out tobe the case

aswell asthe planters argued that

A major effet ofthe British policies was an increase
in the prices of essential supplies. Generally, prices
for plantation supplies tipled and quadrupled after
1776. Herings,for example, were a principle
source of protein forthe enslaved Africans and their
pce rose rom 45 shillings per barrel in 1791 o

7.68 The USA nthe Carlsen 1776-1985

65 shilingsin 1793. Corn, another staple forthe
slaves, went up from 7 shilings per bushel in 1790
to between 10 and 14 shillings in 1792, while Hour
went up from 37 shillings to 86.

(On top ofthis the supplies coming from Canada and
Irland were not enough to ee the population or to
san the agricultural indusury. Asa esl, the
‘colonists used varios means o get around the leg
restrictions placed on them by the Mother Country

Some islands registered US ships as British, but most
just allowed the Americans to enter ther ports.
Another meho was to buy US supplies rom French
islands. This practice was so common that ports in
Martinique and St Domingue became transit points
for US supplies tothe British Caribbean colonies.

As this was undermining the British monopoly of
their colonies’ commercial activity the British
Parliament passed a law in April 1787 banning the
import of flour, bread, wheat, ice and lumber from

all foreign Caribbean colonies, except in cases of
dire need, However, deciding what was “dire need"
sas left up to the governor, who exploited this
Joophole o the fllest and, rom 1782 to 1807,
often used this power o allow US imports.

“The Americans took sugar in exchange for lumber
and provisions This was one factor which let sugar
prices remain higher than the British government
wanted. As long as the colonies were selling to
markets outside the “Mother Country’, import to
Britain were reduced, causing prices to stay dhe same
orrise, Remember the law of economics the ron
law of supply and demand? goods which are scarce
but in demand go up in price.

However, because of complaints kom Irish, British
and Canadian merchants in the erly 19th century,
the British government took even more drastic
action to cut trade between the USA and its
colonies. Lord Camden's directive on 5 September
1804 removed governors’ authority to open port.
The Assembly of Jamaica objected to Governor
Nugent’ proclamation of the order on

21 November, which sparked off similar defiance
in other islands. At this point, th British
government didnot want to offend the USA,

197

168. mainly because the nation was already a major.
market for British manufactured products, So the
British diplomats assured the USA that governors
sill had the authority o open the ports in cases of
dire need

IL 1790. magie that you ae the Present
USA. You have t write speech to Congres dealing

© wy are

o

Nonetheless, the British government's restrictive
policy harmed its own colonies, which experienced
significant hardship after 1776 and forthe ist
decade of the 19th century By the 2th century
specifically ater the Fist World War, Britain had
given in 0 US policy promising not to acquire any
more territory inthe Americas, with British Prime
Minister Arthur Balfour (1848-1930) agrcing with
the Monroe Doctrine. The USA also wamed other
European powers against intrfringin the
Caribbean. Apar from the Roosevelt Corolla,
during the 20th century the USA tried diferent
strategies to maintain stability in Caribbean
‘countries. These included “dollar diplomacy’ and

the good neighbo

In he next section, we wll look at US involvement
five Caribbean counties and one South
American one. You wil learn about the court

issues, politcal instability in the various countries,
intererence by othe foreign powers and
ideological conflits.

US intervention ple

© prevent European movement inthe Americas

© expan territory ares North Amer

© Citas lily callo the Republic of Cuba in
Spanish Rate de Cb)

© The courte cont of ne large sland and numerous
sealer land ets ana eas

© 1815145 em sut fe jp ft US state of For

(© Cuba as lan area of 126,861 square km which
males it the ares country te Cara
Tre cotas Hans

From te early 1th century, some Americans wanted
to acquire the island of Cuba In 1823, dhe US
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, sid that if
Cuba was taken from Spain it would natural) join the
North American union, since Cuba could not support
itself By the late 194 century, the USA had become a
major trading parmer with Cuba. The Americans
"became involved in the second war of Cuban
independence (1895-98), which you wad about in
“Chapter 6. Spin had not only refe to let the
(Cubans govern themselves, but had also increased
taxes on the sand, This sparked off the war between
the Cubans andthe Spanish, The Americans were
‘drawn in when there was an explosion aboard one of
their ship, the USS Maine, which was anchored in
Havana harbour and they decided to ight against
Spain. That the explosion was probably an accident,
‘used by a fire inthe coal bunker, was clean.

The Spanish army was driven out of Cuba and
Cuban independence was granted by the Treaty of
Paris on 10 December 1808. As it turned out,
however the Cubans had only exchanged one
colonial master for another. The USA continued

169. * rodado
che” Sp

to occupy Cuba, on the bass that their presence
was needed to maintain order and to restore the
‘country’s infrastructure which had been damaged
in the war. And, in fc, the Americans did build a
numberof schools, roads and bridges. They
transformed Havana ino a more modem city and
deepened is harbour. They also provided food for
the Cubans and took action to eradicate yellow
fever. Al this was done with the intention to
incorporate Cuba into the US economic, cultural
and educational systems, but ina way that would
‘exclude Afro-Cubans from government. The US
‘government passed a law in 1901, called the Plat
Amendment, that allowed the USA to establish a
naval base at Guantánamo Bay at an annual rent
‘of US$5,000, and gave the USA the right to

intervene in Cuba to preserve ‘a stable government
adequately protecting if, property and

individual liberty

‘One year later, Cuba was declared a republic
and held is first presidential election. The
administration that began on 20 May 1902 under
Cubs first lected president, Tomás Estrada
Palma, vas immediately opposed by many Cubans
because he was seen as a US puppet. There were
elections again in 1905 and 1906, but the process
was shambles, The Cubans rebelled, and the

USA once again occupied the island on
29 September 1906, President Estrada Palma
resigned afer negotiations between the rebels and

7.01 The USA in the Caribbean 1776-1985

TE conciso |

the US government failed, The USA installed à
provisional government of Cuban civilians under
the Cuban flag and constitution, but it was run
by an American. A law commission was et up
to revise the procedures fr elections and on

28 January 1909 the USA handed over the
‘government tothe leader ofthe Liberal part
José Miguel Gómez, who had run against Palma.
Meanwhile Cuba's economy grew steadily, as
sugar prices kept rising untl the 1920s,

The Gómez administration, which stayed in office
for just our years, was failure. Is officials were

mpeten and corrupt, spent too much money
and did not attend tothe needs and concerns

‘of citizens - especially Afo-Cubans. One
consequence of this was that group of Afro
Cubans st up an association t lobby for better
jobs and more politcal patronage and to oppose a
Ban of politcal associations based on colour and
race, In 1912, there were mass demonstrations in
Oriente, which were quelled by government
oops, with hundreds of Afro-Cubans ile.

[Neatly all dhe Cuban administrations afterwards
were run by corrupt leaders, The mos significant
one vas Fulgencio Batista, who controlled the
serment through figurehead from 1934 to
1939 and then was himself elected from 1940 to
1944 and again from 1952 o 1959. Batista, who
‘overthrew the elected governor in 1933 with US

169

170. vo

support kept himselfin power by subverting the
political proces, using the countrys military to get
support through threats

his opponents.

1d even by assassinating

‘This kind o polities was facilitated by the US
involvement in Cuba, For the first half of the 201
‘century the island's revenues continued tobe based
mainly on sugar, but a tourist industry based on
gambling and prostitution also flourished. When
the US government outlawed alcohol between 1919
and 1933, through a policy called Prohibition,
Havana became an even more popular destination
for Americans. This was the sar ofthe tourist
industry in Cuba. Ths situation contributed to
anti-US sentiments among Cubans.

Social conditions in Cuba were relatively good,
‘compared with those in other Latin American
‘countries. The literacy rate was 76%,

uba ranked
first in Latin America in television sets per person,
life expectancy in the 1950s was about the same as
that in the USA, and Cuba actully had more
doctors per person than developed countries such
as Britain and France. However, the flourishing
‘ofthe period from the 1920s to the
150s was also a very lopsided onc, with most of
the wealth going to only few individuals, Only
four out of every 100 Cubans could afford to eat
neat regulary. In dhe rural areas 75% ofthe
wellings were huts made from palm tres, with
only 50% having toilets, 15% having inside
running water and less than 10% having electric;
One third ofthe workforce was poor, and
depended on seasonal employment on the sugar
estates tocar money. Most ofthe bu
indus

ineses and
ies were controlled by foreigners, who
‘owned about three quarters ofthe island’ arable
land, nearly al the essential services and just
under half of the sugar production. Even though
Cuba hada per capita income of USS353, which
vas among the highest in Lain America
1950s, there was sl widespread unemplo
Ah and.

Inthe te 1950s, the USA withdrew its support
of Batista, because his represion had become
embarassing tothe administration. This facliated

the overthrown ofthe Batista regime in a coup that
‘began in late 1958, led bya young lawyer named
Fidel Castro, with Batista lin from the island on
December 31, 1958. Castro had heen exiled for
subversive activites and had been leading guerilla
ar agains the Cuban government or several years
A ist, the USA backed Castro, Casto, along with
Che Guevera, was seen as aroma

among university students,

icrehe, especialy

FIDEL CASTRO

leader of Cata rom 2959) who

im Saigo de Cab, Oriente pri, ad then the
sled Oroso

| scheduled for June 1952. In March ofthat ya however

171. pe cos of Oriente pos

sien of vores ove the Batt goer

multipin, Baits A te cout an

Castro's orignal goals in overthrowing Batista are
not clear, He had networked with many diferent
groups in creating the revolution, from middle-class
profesionalsto the churches to labour unions to
‘communists to capitalists, which is why the USA at,
first id not sc him asa threat but as a likely ally

However, Castro soon began interfering with US
business interests onthe island, as well as criticizing
those Cubans who had supported the USA during
the Batista regime. This thetoric found favour
among ordinary Cubans, who united behind
Castro. He appealed to Cuba's historial memory;
hich included traditions of guerrilla warfare, rai
and social justice, and the struggle for nationhood.

The USA in the Caribbean 1776-1985

An x
arousing Cuban nationalist sentiments, since itis
part of human psychology that group loyalty is

Strongest when there is an enemy to fight or hate

US sentiments were an important ey for

Castro's communism, therefore, was only a
secondary instrument fr his primary goals of
nationalism, of making his revolution las, and of
establishing personal control of Cuban society

ling wy Coane ena to gt i of US inst
the USSR tad

Although he id not at first declare himsclfa
‘communist, Casto soon established diplomatic and
trade links with the USSR, abolishing capitalism, and
nationalizing all the foreign-owned enterprises. This
vas when US public op

jon (exdudingthe views of
Ieftwing radicals in US universi) tured aginst
Him Ita thus Cuba which brought dhe Cold War
to the Caribbean, making the region the stage where
the 30-year rivalry between the USA and the USSR
vas played out in he Western hemisp

Castro blton Cuba's soci infrastructure investing,
in heal cae, education and biotechnology. He also
made Cuban society more militarized tan it had been
"before, He saw “exporting the revolution’ asa way to
keep himself secure within Cuba. Cuba trained and
financed thousands of revolutionaries in other Latin
American countries, This did not endear him tthe
leaders ofthese nations, although hey often voiced
antcUS sentiments too

m

172. 12

be usd y oppanents and proponent to promete I
message Find asl mary potas
Castro from the pars 1959-70. Sud Ve image he

Cuba was the first communist nation in the
Western hemisphere. This disturbed the US
government, which had approved of Castro's
humanistic’ revolution, ashe called it, untl he
instituted the Agrarian Reform Law and
established official ies with the USSR. US sugar
companies stood to lose over million and a half
acres of land because ofthe Agrarian Reform
Law. The purpose of ths law was to undermi
US and other foreign ownership, eliminate
renting and tenaney of land, and create a cadre of

small and medium-sized farmers who cultivated a
variety of erops.

The Americans were concemed that the USSR
now had a posible military launching pad right in
the USA's backyard. They were also worried that
the Cuban Revolution might spread communism to
other Caribbean countries, The US government
made many attempts to undermine, overthrow and!
even assassinate Castro. Within two months of
Castro taking power, he US National Security
“Council began plotting ways to bring another
government to power in Cuba’ Castro used anti-US
sentiments to consolidate his support among the
Cuban people

In January 1961, the US government broke off
diplomate relations with Cuba. The response of
the USSR had not reassured the US government
about Cuba, since he Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushcher,a coa-miners son who became the
Head of the Communist Part in 1953, issued a
public warning tothe USA hat any military action
against Cuba would result in etaiation from the
USSR. Khrushchev claimed that the USSR
wanted only o defend Cuba's experiment with,

‘communism. Naturally these responses also
worried the world in general and dhe Carib
paricular since the USA and
major nuclear powers. The US
placing a trade embargo on Cuba, meaning that no
US companies or ctzens were allowed to sll
goods to Cuba or buy products from there. Asa
result, Cuban cigars, considered among the world’s
best by smokers, became the main item illegally
brought ino the USA. In that yea, the US spy
department named the Central Inteligence Agency
(CIA) supported an operation by 1.500 exiled
Cubans, known asthe Bay of Pigs invasion. This
was repelled by the Cuban army. The US
government at first denied any involvement
‘operation, but was widely disbelieve, with ven
alles in Europe criticizing she USA. On Cubas

R were the wo
responded first by

173. side, Castro now strengthened his country's ties
with the USSR, and bythe end of 1961 had
declred himsefa fll fledged communist. In
‘October 1962 the world almost came to nuclear
wwarafter the Americans discovered, through
satelite photographs, thatthe Soviet government
was building missile launch sites in Cuba. These

nuclear missiles could have reached any chosen
target in the USA and thus doubled the number of
US cities and military bases which could be
destroyed by the Soviets. This strategic increase
was tempting tothe Soviets, because the US

military arsenal was fr superior to that of the
USSR - the USA had ix intercontinental ballistic
missles (ICBMs) to every one Soviet ICBM. These
US missiles could cary a nuclear bomb from the
USA to the USSR. The USA also had three times
as many long-range bomber aircraft than the USSR.
Each nuclear missle was so powerful tha just one
could have destroyed a city o, for that mater a
entire Caribbean island.

US President John F Kennedy who was elected in
1961 and who would be asstssinated in 1963 while
on an oficial motorcade, by a Castro sympathizer,
announced that the US navy would stop any ship
delivering missiles to Cuba. US nuclear submarines
“and ships guhered in Florida, prepared t attack
‘Guba. Kennedy also went on television and issued
an ultimatum 0 the USSR to withdraw al mi
And ships already in Cuba. À war was narrowly
averted through negotiations between President
John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita
Khrushehev. Both men were aware ofthe price of
war: Kennedy had spoke of 200 million people
dead, Khrushchey of 500 milion, Castro, fr his
part had writen a ler to Khrushchev on

27 September 1962, calling on the Soviet leader to
launch a nuclear attack ifthe USA invaded Cuba
"however harsh and terrible the solution would be’
Khrushchev and Kennedy agreement ater weeks
‘of tension, led to the removal of the missle sites by
Khrushchev and a guarantee from Kennedy thatthe
USA would not invade Cubs, Castro played no part

in this agreement and was reportedly angry atthe
utcome, eursing and smashing a mirror when he
heard about it

7 The USA nte Caboean 1776-1995

Although a first it was not known whether Cuba
‘made the offer forthe missile site, documents
released within the past two decades suggest that it
was the USSR which inated the plan. However the
Soviets did not think ara nuclear war was worth
the price of geting dominance in te Caribbean

They were also able to persuade Kennedy to agree to
the removal of 15 Jupiter missiles in Turkey, which
ad the range to reach Russia,

‘The Cuban Misile Crisis helped prevent the Cold
War between the world's two super-powers from
becoming nuclear confit, with “hotline between
{US and USSR leaders, as wells other measures,
bcinginsalled after the incident. The hodine was
direct telephone communication between the US
president andthe Soviet premier, suggestion made
by economist Thomas Schelling who was an adviser
to the US government

The USA also continued to aid the Caribbean
economically in order to prevent the Cuban
revolution spreading.

Who were the allies o the USA ard of

What were the mn ies ard when dhe Cold War eo?

Cuba's economy continued tobe subsidized by the
USSR, to the tune ofabout USSA billion a year, until
that union disintegrated ino its satelite states in the
‘aly 1900s, With the islands economy contracted by
33%, Casr allowed some economic eforms, such as.
foreign investment in de tourist industry; allowing the
US dollar to be used as legal tender so that Cubans
abroad could send money to their relatives in the
island and letting state enterprises control thir trade
and finances, These reforms did not last, and €
remained a communist regime, with an ineficient
‘economy and denial of human rights su

us freedom

13

174. am

of speech and elections between contesting political
paris. Repression also occurred, with people
‘opposed to the Castro regime, or caling for a
‘capitals system, being tortured and jailed.

After 1959, however

Cuban communism was a key

factor in US policy towards another Caribbean.
island: Puerto Rico.

dre een)

Puerto Rico

ES ___—

© Oel te Commonwealth f Puerto le in
Spans Estado Libre Ascoli de Puerto Rio) he
arty ia segon and commamsal in
Caribbean, act wth me USA

(QI vers an area of 9208 saure km and occupies
central poston among tn Ian the nr
Carttean

{© Te capital is San ua. lands fte estos,
Vieques and Culebra ae ai part of he al.

© Poet Rico laa abou 1,600 km south east
of Flog.

Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain fom 1500 to
1898 and then he island effectively became a US
colony. In 1898, the US military occupied the
island during the war between Cuba and Spain
and the USA. Puerto Rico was still an
agricultural economy, its main exports being
coffe, sugar and tobacco, The island was
‘occupied by the Americans in the same year as
Guba, but it was turned over to US force two
months earlier, on 18 October, and a US military

governor was installed to run the country I was
ceded to the USA by the Treaty of Pars, which
was signed on 10 December 1898. As with Cuba,
the Americans set about maintaining order and
modernizing the countrys infrastructure,
constructing highways, drainage, improving the
water supply and sanitation, and setting up a

public education system, The military
government ended its rule on 1 May 1900.

In that year he US Congress passed the Foraker
Act, which legalized the occupation of Puerto Rico
by appointing US oficial asthe islands
government. The US dollar became theofficial
currency in Puerto Rico and all US laws applied to
the sland. One advantage Puerto Ricans got from
the arrangement was that their income was not
taxed by the USA. To this day; Puerto Rico is no au
independent country Although, since 1917 has
hha a local legislature, and since 1948 its governors
have been elected by the populace, the countrys
really governed by the USA. Puerto Rico has a
delegate inthe US House of Representatives, but
Puerto Ricans cannot vote in US elections.

Asa result of the Foraker Act, Puerto Rico's
economy became geared to the USA, with dhe main
‘exports being sugar and other agricultural
products, with some ight manufactures. However,
all he main industries in Puerto Rico were owned
and run by US corporations. In the eae part of
the 20h century he US government opposed
attempts by Puerto Rico to become an independent
‘county. 1922, for example, he Puerto Rican
Nationalist Party, which opposed the country's
continued subjection to the USA, was repressed by
both the US and he colonial government, Another
politcal organization, the Liberal Party also
favoured independence, but pushed for gradual
reform. should be noted that several referendums
have been conducted asking Puerto Ricans if they
favour independence and the majority of citizens
have voted against the motion,

‘This was demonstrated in 1938, when a
Dreakavay faction ofthe Liberal Party, called the
Popular Democratic Party (PDP) abandoned
prosindependence and won the 1940 election,
The PDP sought to maintain the island's
‘association’ status as a commonwealth oras an
improved commonwealth, orto set up free
sovereign-associaton status or Free Associated
Republi. With this platform, the PDP w

plurality vote in referendum onthe island's status
and remained in power until 1968,

175. During the Second World War (1939-43)
Puerto Rico tried to industralze by creating
state-owned corporations that used local
materials and sold to Puerto Ricans. This
experiment ended ater the war, with the
government five companies being sold to private
‘owners. Based on its relationship with the USA,
the Puerto Rie

nent tried anew strategy
called Operation Bootstrap (in Spanish,
Operación Manos ala Obra), which was intended
to atract US companies to manufacture goods for
export to the USA. This is known as

industraizaion by invitation” and was the
brainchild of Caribbean economist Sir W. Arthur
Lewis, as you read in Chapter 6.

This policy had thre phases. In the frst phase
factories were built and operated by the
government, In he second phase, which started in
1946, a government agency called the Industrial
Development Corporation constructed factory
Building and leased them to private
manufacturer Inthe third stage, the government

and concentrated on id and incentives to tract

a of any involvement in building Factories

private sector investors to set up manufacturing
plants in Puerto Rico. The policy was largely
Successful in industriaizing the island. In 1947,
20% ofthe country's GDP came from agriculture
and 22% from manufacturing In 1980, just 396 of
GDP was fom the agricultural sector and 37%

1

The USA in the Caribbean 17

ages

Aer the Cuban Revolution, Puerto Rico became

more important to the USA, because the US
government wanted to showcase the island asa
capitalist alternative tothe communist system so
the Caribbean would not have a ‘second Cuba
This also resuked in communists and socialists
being repressed in Puerto Rico, as well as pro

independence groups. One measure ofthe
economic success of Puerto Rico is he gross
national product (GNP) which in 1950 was
1US$942 and which, just 30 years late, had

increased tenfold 10 USS3,475.

“Two importa measures instituted in 1976 by the
US government were the revamping of ection 936 of
the US tax code and the extension to Puerto Ricans
‘ofthe US food stamp programme. The first measure
reduced taxes on profits which remained in Puerto
Rico. This helped develop the manufacturing sector,

specially in pharmaceuticals and machinery

The US food stamp programme added tothe
personal income of Puerto Ricans by reducing the
amount of money they spent on food. Half of
Puerto Rican families took advantage ofthe food
stamp programme, although 69% qualified. In the
1980, a cap was put on the value of food stamps
given out, and now just 40% of fais use it,

vs

176. 16

o

© What ae yr fst

{© Image ht you are Une Sam

toe four en
© Wha oyu tink the ren re

Brain ral as ben comman in

although 48% of Puerto Rican families are below

the poverty line by US standards. However, you
14 hat the US standard o

+ han that of developing counties,

fact that three out of four poor

Americans own a car and over 80% have

airconditioned homes

Most Puerto Ricans see thee country as benefiting
from the privilege relationship with he USA.
Migration tothe USA is easy bu its mostly Puerto
Ricans with higher education and profesional
qualifications who go there In he 1930s, 48,000
Puerto Ricans migrated to the USA (3% ofthe total
Population); in he 1950, it was 151.000 (9% of
the population); and in the 1960 the total number
‘of migrants was 430,000 (18% ofthe population)
This brain drain’ may have negative effects on
Puerto Rico's development

| DE yor knew?

The Dominican Republic

EN —

© The Dominican Regubic (Renée Dominicana)
cales In este wo tra of pa, while
Nal ocupe he estr hrf the ila

(D Hispaniola bes between he ans of Cu to he west
ard Puerto Riot ea an stated
‘Shou 1,090 km sect of Floris and 15 kn
orth of Coloma ans Venen

© Te norte shores of the Dominican Res
face the Ani Dean, unete soutien share ie
erde by he Cort Se.

© Between te ester tip fhe and and Puerto Rio
rons a chanel eal the Mona Passage

{© The Damiican Republic has nares of 4,443

177. se ha
jam) Ne Erin
2e

etes |
ase

| en

LS |

US involvementin the Dominican Republic started in
1865, when the county's dictator leader, President
Buenaventura Biz aske Ulyse S, Gran then
‘commander ofthe Union mies during the American
Civil Wir to make the oounry a protectorate In 1861,

de previous president had restored dhe country tits
colonial stats under Spin, in order to have Spanish
protection against tk from Hat. Spain withdrew
lts woopsin 1865, Grant agreed to Bic request,
party because ofthe Dominican Republic strategie
Poston on major sea routes lading rom both Europe
and dhe USA tthe Panama Canal, but the US Senate
‘id not approve the rea

Save fora period of prosperity and political stability
from 1882 to 1899 under the presidency ofthe
Ulises Heureaux, the Dominican Republic was
economica unstable and ruled by dictators.
Heureaus was assassinated in 1899 and the USA,
now concerned even more with Caribbean matters
fier it had occupied Cuba and Puerto Rico, also
became involved in Dominican airs. The USA
vas already the major market for the republic's

produce, as well as the main supplier ofits import
US firms ha also started to invest more in the
country In 1905, when European creditors began
making threats over unpaid Dominican debts the
USA took over the administration of the Domi

customs department. In 1916, when the Dominican
government collapsed because ofinteral confit,
the USA took over governance ofthe entire country.

7. The USA nthe Cabe 1776-1985

Constabalary

As with Cuba and Puerto Rico, the Americans built
roads, schools, communications and sanitation
Faciles and other projects during the time they
‘ceupied the Dominican Republic (1916-24).
Another legacy however, was a modern military
constabulary, trained by the US Marine Corps,
‘which future Dominican dictators would use to

hold on to power,

In 1924, in elections overscen by US officials,
Horacio Vásquez was elected President. He was
incompetent and corrupt, and the Great
Depression of 1920 to 1930 undermined the
Dominican economy. In 1930, there was an
uprising against Vásquez, He was ousted from
power, and Rafıel Trujillo, who controlled the
military took over the country. Trillo ruled
from 1930 to 1961 by holding rigged elections
Although a ruthless dictator, he maintained
internal stability liquidated the national debt and
modemized the country, Under his rule, the
amount spent by government on the Dominican
people rose from US$3.44 per person in 1930 to
USS47 per person in 1960, while exports rose
fiom US$10 per head to USS57 per head
However, he also stole and wasted public funds,

and in 1937 murdered thousand of Haitians who
bad fled cheir country. Despite being a corrupt
dictator, Tryjilo had the support of the US
government, because the USA viewed the
Dominican Republic as the country most likely
to become a second Cuba.

‘When Trujillo was assassinated in 1961, the US
government was worried that his succestor Juan
Bosch, was backed by communists, Bosch was

im

178. 1

overthrown bya military coup and fighting broke
out between the reels and Bosch supporters. In
response, US President Lyndon Johnson sent about
23,000 marines tothe Dominican Republic
‘supposedly to proteet US civilians. Bosch faction
was defeated because of US help for he rebels, and

an angi-communist lawyer named Joaquin Balaguer
was installed as president in an election in which
only selected persons were allowed to vote

Balaguer stayed in power with five more rigged
elections, was succeeded by other dictators, and the
Dominican Republic did not become a democracy
und he 1990s,

Haiti

=

© Hat is lily the Rede of Halt Haan
Creoles Rep Day French: Republique Da.

© Iris te ony Independent Erre seating pb in
of Hispania and sever ner smal isan.

© tis states about 970 km southeast fF
in ne Alas

© The cry comprises two pris spray he
Gul of Gonaives Hat x ordered onthe arth the
‘Aare eta nte est y te Dominican Raub,
an en he auth and wet he Carnes Sn

© The expt is Por-a-Prnce

rom the time Haiti became the Western.
hemisphere's first country ruled by Aficans, the
USA established wading links. This relationship
continued 10 varying degrees throughout the 19th
‘entry and, by the 1890s, the Americans increase
their effort to get commercial and military
foothold in Haiti In 1905, dhe USA took Haiti's
‘custom department into receivership, as they had
with the Dominican Republic, Before the First
World War (1914-18), US business interests were
firmly established in Hat, By 1915, the US had
taken military control of Haitian occupation that
was to last uni 1934. The US government justified
{his ation on the grounds of humanitarian
intervention and under the Monroe Doctrine

(see page 165)

ca er inc a
pS |

This may have been the cas, but protecting US
business interests and establishing a base to protect
the Panama Canal were also key US concerns Haiti
signed a treaty with the USA establishing US
financial and political domination In 1918, in an
election supervised by the US Marine Comps, a new
constitution was introduced tha permitted
Foreigners o own land in Hal

The US ofical running Haiti favoured the
mixederace group. This made many black
Haitians resent the US occupation, since they
believed they were being deliberately excluded
fiom public office. There were also daily confits
between the US marines and Hañans, When the
Marine Corps invoked a law from as far back as
the regime of Henri Christophe to force Haitians
into road gangs, there was a revolt. This was soon
suppressed. Although the Americans also built up

the country’s infrastructure, as they had in the
other Caribbean countries they occupied, the
Haiian Fl that not enough was done, expecially
given the treatment they received a the hands of
the marines. A 1921 report from the US Senate

found:

<a lu of the Departments in Washington to
appreciate the importance of selecting

for service in Haiti whether in evil or militar

capacities, men who were sympathetic tothe
Haidans and able to maintain coral personal

179. In October 1930 a national assembly was elected
and in August 1934 the US president, Franklin D.
Roosevelt withdrew the Marines. However, the
US gs tinued to direct eco
policies in Haiti until 1947. Ten years later,
Francis ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier was elected President.
ok him just seven yeas to set up a personal
military force, called the Tontons Maco
declare himself president for lie. He followed in

cs, and

the worst tradition of oppression and corruption
‘until he died in 1971, and was succeeded by his
son, Jean-Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvaie. In 1986,

street its forced the junior Duvalier to fle the

country which was then taken over by the army

In 1987, new constitution was introduced and,
in December 1990, Has rat fee presidential
«elections were held.

Mo: AS

(© Sometimes refered oa the Il of Sle Grenada
Ye men sor of te Windnar Land sated
‘ester Caribbean Sen.

© Grenada covers a tata and area 245 que kn,
iria te deerency of he sore Greases

© Te cal St. George's

(On 25 October 1983, the USA invaded Grenada,

The aim was supposedly to rescue Americans on

theisland aer a military coup overthrew the
ernment. I fc, he US government had been

Keeping a close eye on Grenada since 1979, when a
«cialis group led by Maurice Bishop had taken
‘over the government ina bloodless coup. Inthe

7. The USA ne Cabra 1776-1985

1983 coup, however, Bishop himself vas killed by
his former comrades,

Before the 1979 coup Grenada had been ruled

6 years by Eric Ging with brief interlude
between 1962 and 1967 when he was out of office.
Gary was a trade unionist who headed the Grenada

United Labour Paty. Grenada became independent

in 1974, seven years afer Gary became premier. In
that time, Gary had become controversial and lost,
popularity because of his violent acts against his
‘opponents and poor economic management, as well
a his unconventional ideas. He once petitioned the
United Nations to set up an observatory in Grenada
to search for spacecraft from other plants. He set
upa paramilitary group called the Green Beasts
and a secret police force, The Mongoose Gang,
hich intimidated, beat up and even murdered

his opponents,

By the 1970s, nearly half ofthe adult population
was out of work.

| ar
=

a9

180. 180

A coalition of politcal partes called the New Jewel
Movement (NJM),headed by Bishop, contested the
1976 election and, while they did not win, dey got
‘enough support to become the opposition in
parliament. The 1979 coup was exeeuted when

airy was out ofthe country: It was the frst ime an

lected leader in the British Caribbean had been

removed by a coup.

Bishop and the NJM, which now formed dl
People’s Revolutionary (PRC), tud
‘mang problems to tackle. Apart from the wiespread
‘unemployment, infastractire (roads, water and
doctricy supply) had become run down, while the
institutions ofthe state, rom the cv service to the
judiciary: had become corrupt or weak. The PRG
‘blamed his conditions not only on Gaiy's misule,

but also on colonialism and the continued ownership
‘of ey sectors ofthe economy by foreign companies.
Politically Bishop and his colleagues were also
‘opposed tothe Brits model of pariament, while
‘economically they rejected capitals. The PRG

us fllowed a communist model to some extent,
‘which inevitably aroused the suspicions ofthe US
government. The PRG did not rassure onlookers
(Gave those who also believed in crei pois)
when they shut dove ll he privat medi inthe
count saying the owners were tying to undermine
the government. The PRG replaced he British model
with what hey alle participatory democracy in
‘which ordinary citizens were regular consited om
policy issues. However, these consultations id not

nt poli

etal influence gover

Aswith dhe usnl communist model, dhe state became
the driver ofthe economy in Grenada Projets were
implemented o restore the county's infrastructure

and improve agricultural production. Tourism was
chosen as he best means to generate economic
‘growth in the short term, and to this end he NIM.
started building a new spor. The PRG policies
seemed ioe successful between 1979 and 1982,
when GDP per head grew fom USS1,710 to
USSI,826, while inflation was reduced from 20% to
8% However most ofthis growth came from
‘government funded construcion, rather han the
productive and foreign-exchange caring sectors.
The tourist plan neve took off since, as you read in

Chapter 6, most tourists in the Caribbean come from
the USA, and Americans would hardly have been
tracto 1 an island where the government fivoured
‘communist policies. Investors, both foreign and local,
were cautious about

vesting inet like
‘manufacturing, for much the same reason In August
1983, the Bishop administration signed an agreement
withthe Intemational Monetary Fund (IME) for

financial assistance - an ironie necesi since the
IMF was typically seen by lets asthe symbol ofall
that was wrong withthe capitalist and Westen world

There had always been internal ifs inthe party and
the IMF agreement exacerbated them. Two months
later Bishop was arrested and executed by dhe army,
which set up Revolutionary Military Council. The
heads of CARICOM met in Port-of Spain in
"Trinidad 1 discuss the rss. Four years before,
when the NJM had taken over the country this
regional body had issued a statement saying, the
affairs of Grenada are for the people ofthat territory
to decide’. This was intended asa message o Britain
and the USA not to interfere in Grenada. At the 1989
meeting tured out that some Caribbean heads of
government - hose of Jamaica, Dominica and
Barbados had already told dhe Americas that they
would support any action to remove the new
government which had executed Bishop.

Aweek afer Bishop was killed, the US invaded. The
Governor-General, Sir Paul Soon, was patin ofice
by the Americans. A governing council was set upto
run the country unt an election could be held. The
lection, held in December 1984, was won by the
New National Party headed by Herbert A. Biz,
‘who had led the government in the 1960s. The US
military remained in he country until 1985.

The US invasion of Grenada served as a waming to
other Caribbean leaders thatthe USA would not
tolerate communism in the Caribbean, even on a
‘small land. Only two Caribbean countries, Trinidad
ba, and Guyana, opposed the U

and invasion.

181. =.

Pana fly m iii of Paar

the rorthonstr comer of South re

© tt ron, carve si of and bordered onthe
north (ang 41160 lomere coast) by à
Caribbean Sea on re eas by Colombia on he south
along 31,690 klomer consti) y the Paie
(cean and on the west by Costa Re.

© The capital Panama Cy

va became independent rom Spin in 1821

imén Bolívar cleared New Granada (present

ay Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela) of
Spanish and loyalist frees, and voluntarily joined
the Colombian union. Three attempts to secede from
Colombia in the 1880s fle. This union vasto

fect US involvement in Panama in the 20th century.

US involvement in Panama realy started in 1849,
‘rash. Gold had

been discovered in hat state, and thousands of people

1168 The USA nthe Caribbean 2776-1985
Head west hoping
prospectors. Since an
USA

chose to!

sie trich by becoming
werland route through the

very dificult, many ofthe prospectors
through Panama, which sparked offa
periy in that country The building ofa

transcontinental road was negated in 1845 with

Colombia. The Bidlack Mallrino Treat of 146,

which came out ofthis deal, granted the USA the
ect theine and free transit across the

continent. The

‘opened in 18

Panama ray built by US investors,
and italone was so profitable that an

cite city Colón, was built because ofit. To ease
transport further, construction ofthe Panama Canal
vas started,

© Caribe workers lps bul the Panama Cana.
Beinen 1900 and 1924, shut 60,000 Barbas
went fe Panama to worsen te Canal and st
1207008 o tem de rng ts entre.

E > ronan
>

m

182. 182

However e sudden prosperiy as it usually does,
Drought social une. Between 1850 and 1900,
Panama had 40 diferent administrations, 30 riots
and 13 US interventions. The Americans wanted to
keep control ofthe routes from Panama to
California. In 1905, afer the Colombian Senate put
of rating canal treaty; the US government ed
by President Theodore Roosevelt organized and
Financed a separatist movement, recognizing the
Panamanian insurrection on 6 November. In other
words, the USA effectively engineered a revolution
in another country in order to protect its strategie
interest. This was a main cause fr distrust by
Latin Americans of US foreign policy,

The Panama Canal (In Spanish, Canal

de Panama)

© is canal the Ita
Isthmus of Panama in Cental Amer Ñ

© ls gt from de water In te

© lts ne of te wo mot state rica
Canal is sang been U east a
coast af the USA fo example
voyage y about 8/000 natal mis y so the

© The Fest attempt o bu he cana asin 2979,

pue was orgie athe Compagnie
À du Coal Panama

In November, the USA signed the Hay-Bunau-
Varia Treaty, which gave the US government
control over the Panama Canal Zone in perpetuity
Work on the canal began in 1907 and the

‘completed canal was opened in 1914. This new
watervay changed US naval strategy, since US
warships could now move quickly between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and his made it even
more importan to the USA thatthe Caribbean
remain politically stable so the USA would have no
problems defending the canal

‘The new constitution gave the USA the right to
send its army into Panama to quell disturbances.
Political and economic unrest brought military
interventions by the USA in 1908, 1912, 1918
and 1935.

After he Second World War, riots became frequent
and there were increasing call forthe Americans
to get out of Panama. Stent protest agains the
regime of Emesto de la Guardia (elected in 1956)
and the USA led o the imposition ofa sate of

siege in 1958. More disorders occured during
the ist four months of 1959, and a march on
Independence Day into the Canal Zone to raise

the Panamanian flag was stopped by the police

In 1968, the Panama National Guard staged a
successful coup under Colonel Omar Torrijos
Herrera. In 1977,a new teaty was signed, called
the Panama Canal Treaty, which put the canal
under Panama jurisdiction, while the US
government retained responsibility for the
‘operation ofthe canal until 1999,

In 1989, the USA invaded Panama and overthrew
the county’ de acto ruler, General Manuel Antonio
Noriega, commander ofthe Panama Defence Forces,
ANoreiga, who had headed Panama secret pol
had once been CIA operative. When the arm
cad resigned in September 1983 t pursue the
presidency, control ofthe guard and he county
went to Noreig, tho quickly increased the sizeof
the army, closed every medi organization that did
not support him and created paramilitar regiments
to atack or assassinate his opponents. Custom
houses, post offices, the Colón Free Zone and
‘other state-run enterprises were taken over by the
guard. Noreiga was also linked to the Colombian
drugtrafiing cars, nearly 1987, charges of
drug related actives, murdering of opponents

183. and rigging of elections were made publi against
Noriega by the secondin-comman of the National
Guard, Roberto Díaz Herrera. In February 1988 in
the US courts, Noriega was indicted on counts of
drugtraficking and racketering.

On 11 March, US President Ronald Reagan
ordered sanctions against Panama including
the elimination of preferential rade and the

withholding of ana fees. On 15 December 1989,

{he Norieg-led assembly ofthe Panamanian
government declared war against the USA. The
next day Panamanian solders killed an unarmed
US marine offer dresed in vlan clothes.

The US government responded quickly. On
19 December, US President George Bush sent
troops to Panama with orders to capture Noriega
to face drug charges in the USA and to protect
Americans in Panama, All resistance was quickly
‘overcome by the US troops. Noriega was given
refuge inthe Vatican embassy in Panama, where
be remained for 10 days, finally surrendering to
the US army on 3 January 1990. He was then
transported to Miami, tried and jailed,

En... |

Impact of the USA on the
Anglophone Caribbean

a
|

7. The USA Inthe Caibran 1776-1985

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I George Sec a fat be cu between no me
| Brenn o unenplenen nen waren De

a State to ways In whieh ie war impacted nidad

Lt may not be coincidental then that the counties
the USA intervened the most with, such as Hai
Cuba and the Dominican Republi, were the least
democratic in the Caribbean. Puerto Ric san
exception to this rule perhaps because the
relationship there was based mainly on economic
General, he USA interfered more in

‘cooperation.
the former Spanish and French colonies than the
British ones,

Whereas civic and political organizations had
begun to emerge in the British, French and Dutch
colonies, the US engagements catalyzed the
creation of authoritarian and militaristic leaders

and groups. Inthe Dominican Republic, all senior
officals were removed and replaced by US
military officers.

In respect to the Anglophone Caribbean; he US
presence was most fll fle during the Second
World War, when the USA got 99-year eses for
niltary bassin Trinidad, Guyana, Antigua

1

184. St Lucia, Jamaica and the Bahamas, In Trinidad,
the bases became a political issue inthe 1950s,
reaching a sage where Prime Minster Eric Wiliams
Jed a protest march in 1960 forthe USA to return
the land to Trinidad and Tobago.

General; US political interference in the
Anglophone terioics was confined to the invasion
‘of Grenada, though the USA takes the lea in helping
the British govemment remove he left leader
‘Chea Jagan 961 and 1964.

By the 1980s, the US opposition to communism and
its demonstrated willingness o use force or aid to
keep the Caribbean out ofthe hands of the USSR

vana between

seemed to bear Fruit. Prime ministers in Jamaica,
Barbados, St Lucia and Dominicaallaligned
themselves with the USA, promising thei citizens
that such relationship would have economic
benefits for the islands. However, the 1980s wasa
period of economic recession and Caribbean
‘countries had rising unemployment and inflation,

torical emigration from the region othe
metropolitan countries has been one method
through which Caribbean people have deal with
¡omic hardship. The USA has Long been a

prefered destination, with New York cy being
especially popular for Afo-Caribbeans. However,
US government policy ha always tried to restrict.

ich immigrants The Immigration Act of 1934 was
based on ace, trying to exclude Asians and
CCaribbeans by imposing quota system based onthe
number of nationals already living inthe USA. Only
‘when the USA entered the Second World War were

restrictions temporal lied since the country
needed cheap labour at home as its troops went to
fight The US Manpower Actalowed Caribbean
people short term contracts to workin the USA, but
this was repealed in 1952. In thie same yea the USA
passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, which
retained he same quota system asthe 1924 act. The
1959 et was changed in 1965, replacing quotas with
seven new categorie fo allowing immigrants othe
‘country, with family unification being the main
criterion. In 1976, the US government added a
preference for immigrants coming from countries in
the Western hemisphere and als increased the

number ofimmigrans allowed. By the 1980s there
‘were entre Caribbean commutes in major cites
suchas New York, Miami and Washington
in New Jersey and Connecticut

ell as

Now that the Cold War has ended, the USA is less
‘concerned about security in the Caribbean, but
helping maintain politcal stability ssl standard!
USA policy This is shown by the US maintaining,
‘embassies in ive Anglophone islands he Bahamas,
Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and
Tobago. Cuba is no longer considered a serious
threat. Caribbean leader, now that they are unable
to use the USSRas leverage for US aid, are nw

paying more attention o increasing trade within the
region and attracting foreign investment fom other
ly China.

US concerns in he region now centre around drug,
trafficking, particularly involving cocaine. This has
made Caribbean governments pay more attention to
drug fighting initiatives than they otherwise might
have. Since he 9/11 attack in 2001, errors has
become an additional security issue with US
attention being particularly focused on Guyana, and!
‘Trinidad and Tobago, because ofthe Muslim
population in these countries,

Such issues aswell as others, have caused the USA
to attach policy measures to loan, investment and
trade agreements. Asa resul, several Caribbean
‘countries have had to pass legislation to protect the
‘environment and reduce oficial corruption. The
USA has not abandoned the Monroe Doctrine, but

the superpower now largely res 1 pursue ls
objectives through economic and political methods,
rather than throu

nomic effects

‘The economy ofthe USA has long had a strong
influence on the fortunes ofthe Caribbean. In he
financial depresion of the 1880s, the failure of banks